


Are We Really Doing This?

by alistairVT



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Anal Sex, Because not everyone is sunshine and rainbows, Because there's not enough emotional!Yami fics, Blueshipping, F/M, Just a Yugi with commitment and trust issues, M/M, OOC, Puzzleshipping, but not really, emotional!Yami, emotionally unavailable!Yugi, slight character bashing during the first few chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-05
Updated: 2018-03-19
Packaged: 2018-10-28 05:29:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 131,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10824753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alistairVT/pseuds/alistairVT
Summary: Highschool AU. OOC. YYxY and KxS. Yami is in a friends with benefits relationship with Yugi but what happens when feelings change? Will Yugi 'No Strings Attached' Mutou give in and say yes? Because he knows deep inside he doesn't wanna say no even when his friends are against it. Sexy times. Commitment Issues. Separation Anxiety. Complications. Clingy Friends. And Family Issues.





	1. Self Destruction, Self Denial

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This is Are We Really Doing This, it's a fic I wrote for NaNoWriMo which I was so happy to write for the whole November of 2016. This is going to be long ride that I hope you guys will stick with. I plan on updating regularly and I will not stop until I finish this story.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own YuGiOh or any of its characters.

“I heard the school punching bag had a visit from the nurse’s office today,” Marik chirped as he took his seat on their usual table in the cafeteria. His usually unruly platinum blonde hair were trapped in a ponytail. He must’ve come from the chem lab. He undid his ponytail and threw the hair tie on the seat next to him. “Why is it that you, the uptight ass, get the fun class and I’m stuck with the boring one?” he asked.

Yami looked up from his calculus textbook to eye his cousin carefully. Marik was not only known for his lack of filter, but for his brute and violent tendencies too, which is why people took his crass language at a stride to save their life. “Maybe it’s because I’m a good human being and the gods are rewarding me for it.”

Marik scoffed at him, “The gods will smite you when you step out of this building for that comment.”

“The gods punish him by keeping him alive and related to you,” Bakura retorted taking Marik’s soda before lounging on his seat and put his feet on top of the chair across from him. “Ushio has a great shiner today. The shrimp’s must have a solid hook.” He grabbed Yami’s plate of fries.

“Those are mine, you know,” Yami rolled his eyes but let his cousin have them. His eyes drifted back to his calculus book. At the corner of his eye, he sees a boy with his similar tricolor hair. Yugi Mutou was only a few inches shorter than Yami, then again, the crimson-eyed teen wasn’t the tallest person in school. Yugi has big amethyst eyes on his pale cherubic face. He has a similar hair as Yami but the Yugi had extra gold bangs, lacked the gold upward streaks, and instead of the red tips, he has purple.

The teen, as usual, was surrounded by his three oldest friends. Joey Wheeler, an ex member of some gang along with Yugi’s other friend Tristan Taylor. Both have quite the temper, but Wheeler’s is legendary. Add them to Ms. Student Council President, Tea Gardner, and Yugi’s own avengers team is complete. The trio had done their best to keep bullies at bay, but they were unfortunate enough to be in a different class as Yugi, who not only shares the class with Yami, but also the biggest brute in the senior class, Ushio. The neanderthal, along with the other bullies in school had Yugi as their target since freshman year due to Yugi’s small stature and the whole display his divorced parents had showed one awful day. Due to the beatings, and, Yami theorized, hanging out too much with Joey and Tristan, Yugi developed his own violent and rebellious tendencies to fight back. Hence the weird posture the amethyst-eyed boy has now with his injured shoulder.

“Did you see the fight, Yami? I know you sit like miles away from both Yugi and Ushio to avoid having your pretty little face be in the crossfire, but I’m sure you had a great view of it. It could have been amazing to see our version of David and Goliath live,” Marik teased. “Ow!” he winced as a brunette with dark cobalt blue eyes approached.

“That’s not very nice, Marik. You know Yugi doesn’t deserve that,” Mana scolded as she took her usual seat after grabbing the hair tie Marik borrowed from her. Mana was the only girl on their table. She’s Yami’s first friend when he transferred to Domino High. She was the only “normal” person who would bravely sit with Marik and Bakura and chastise them. And as an added bonus, she was the only girl that Yami liked that didn’t try to jump his bones. The brunette turned to Bakura, “You know, you have your own lunch.” She eyed the stolen plate of fries while giving him a brown paper bag. “Chicken club sandwich with eggs and extra cheese, no tomatoes.”

“Why bother with bringing my own lunch when you bring them for me?” the albino smirked then ruffled her spiky tresses. The two were almost polar opposites. Mana was an absolute sunshine while Bakura was a disastrous typhoon, and yet they get along so well. He threw his own brown paper bag at her “Caesar salad with ‘crispy’ chicken strips and cherry tomatoes. Go crazy.” The two always switched lunches. Bakura’s mom always prepared healthy meals for him, while, according to him, Mana’s mom prepared the “fun” lunches. “Hey, Yami, what are you doing tonight? It’s a Friday.”

The crimson-eyed teen blinked a couple of times at the unexpected question then looked up from his textbook again. “I’m studying. Calculus is a bitch of a subject and our ass of a teacher has decided not to let us use a calculator for it, like every normal working man who needs calculus in their life.”

Bakura scoffed, “You process numbers faster than a calculator when you’re dueling and yet you still need one for a stupid math exam?” He threw a soggy french fry at his cousin and gave a sickly sweet smile he knew would creep Yami out.

The tricolor teen rolled his eyes. “Counting how much of my life points I can lose to make my opponent’s life points drop to zero is so much easier to do than converting squiggly lines into a formula with too many letters on them.” He took the last bite of his lunch then downed his soda before burping in Bakura’s face. “And no, this is not just some _math_ test. Math is merciful, calculus, on the other hand, is pure torture. Don’t you have an exam?”

Bakura shrugged, “Unlike you, our calculus teacher is an angel and has allowed to not only use a calculator but to have a cheat sheet.” He gave Marik a high five and a victorious smug smile at Yami who had pursed his lips in frustration.

“I heard Mutou got attacked by Ushio in the bathroom,” a junior who was at the table next to them said.

“I saw it!” her friend answered. Mark, a boy from their class, was known for obsession with gossip. “He kept asking Yugi to call his mommy for help like the ass that he is before shoving him against the wall. Did the stupid thing and bent his body low enough for Yugi to hit so now the brute has a shiner.”

A halved cherry tomato hit Mark.

“You gossip more than any girl I know. Just shut up and leave Yugi alone,” Mana scolded.

Mark glared at Mana and was about to retort at her but Bakura blocked his view. “Your next action better be to walk away or shut up, Gossip Girl. Mana’s not really the _friendly_ type when provoked, and we’re not friendly either and the most mercy we’ll do is do the damage for her. Heavens know her bite is _way_ worse than her bark.” It was a big mistake to try and fight with Mana in the first place. The girl had a sharp tongue, sharp enough the boys sitting at the table were smart enough to not mess with her when they were being scolded by her.  Mark and his other friends slowly got up from their table and left the cafeteria.

The whole table snickered at the retreating figures. They all went into comfortable conversation about school work which involved Bakura begging to Yami to copy off his worksheets and Marik making snide comments about the certain exchange of punches that happened earlier today. News always travel fast when it was concerning the smallest boy in the senior class. Yugi was such a hot target for bullies due to his size and his temper. Apparently, the big bullies like it when they provoke a reaction from the teen. Marik and Bakura were pranksters and troublemakers, but they weren’t bullies. If they wanted to torment someone, they’d choose one of their own, like Yami. The A grade student who moved from Egypt to Japan on the first year of high school, whose first friend was the hyperactive Mana.

“Why is Yugi looking this way?” Marik asked and all but Yami snapped their heads at the direction of Yugi’s table. The pale tricolor teen scowled at the three faces until they turned away.

Yami smirked, “ _Great_ . Now he hates you guys today too.” He looked at his three friends and chuckled. “You _know_ he doesn’t like it when you stare stupidly at him. The guy doesn’t need your pity when you hear news about him getting beat up by the most immature man child in school.” When the three finally went back to their own business, Yami finally looked at Yugi and caught the boy looking right at him.

“What is with you and Mutou anyway?” Marik asked.

Yami snapped his head at Marik’s direction and was about to answer his question but saw that the platinum blond was talking to the female at their table.

Mana just shrugged. “Maybe I’m just a nice person, Marik. You all know that Yugi doesn’t deserved to be treated that way. What if that happened to you? Wouldn’t it annoy the hell out of you if people teased you for something you couldn’t control such as your parents divorcing?”

“He also doesn’t deserve people talking about him and taking pity on him, Mana,” Yami supplied.

Mana pouted and took a rather harsh bite on her salad. “I’m not taking pity on him, Yami!” she scolded. “I’m merely stating the fact that Yugi needs to be treated as a normal human being. I know I don’t want to be in the spotlight that way.”

“You know…” Bakura started, “It almost sounds like you have a crush on him, Mana.” He waved a french fry at the brunette. “Do you have a thing for guys with tricolor hair, purple eyes and a growth defect?” he teased.

Rolling his eyes, Yami threw a french fry at his white-haired cousin. “Watch it, Bakura. He and I look almost the same, so you tease him, you’re teasing me too.”

Bakura snorted. “Like it changes anything. I already know you have a growth defect too, Yami.” His eyes widen when he was hit with crouton. He snapped his head at the direction of Mana who was smirking.

“If you must know, Yugi is not _that_ short. He’s actually cute that way,” she retorted.

“So you _do_ have a crush on him. It makes sense since you always seem to defend him so strongly.” Marik teased and he was only acknowledged by having his ear flicked by Mana’s perfectly manicured fingernail. “Ow!” he rubbed his abused ear with a scowl on his face.

“I don’t have a crush on him,” Mana insisted. “I’m merely stating that Yugi’s cute. I mean look at him!”

“So if you think Mutou’s cute. Does that mean you consider Yami cute too seeing as they do look a bit alike?” Marik questioned.

The brunette actually rested her chin on her fist and studied her tricolor-haired friend. After a few seconds she shook her head. “They’re different… Too different. Their similarities are pale in comparison to their differences in their aura,” she explained.

Marik and Bakura burst out laughing, slamming their palms on the table. But their laughter suddenly became howls of pain when Mana grabbed them by their ears. After a few more seconds, they both begged for surrender and Mana graciously let them go.

Yami couldn’t help but snicker. He knew Mana and her “seeing people’s auras” thing. Back when they first met, Mana rushed towards him saying that his aura was so off and she wanted to know if it was because he was new. Most of the time, Mana was very accurate with reading people’s auras. And she chooses her friends based on them. When Yami asked how she could see his aura. She herself couldn’t understand how she could see the aura but she also explained that it could be because of her synesthesia. The brunette has mirror-touch synesthesia wherein she sees someone getting hurt and she feels it as well, and she also has chromesthesia wherein she can see sounds. Their voice and how they interact with life give off their aura. No matter how much she would explain what the aura looked like, Yami couldn’t picture it the way Mana would describe it.

“What does Yugi’s aura look like?” he eventually asked.

Marik groaned. “You know that whenever you ask her about auras, we can go around what she says on different angles and still not have a clear picture of what she’s saying right? I mean she called my aura shiny but jagged and sturdy. My aura sounds like a car fender.”

“Fluffy.”

“What?” all three males asked in unison.

“Yugi’s aura looks fluffy and a bit gray but also has hints of brightness. Like a rain cloud about to disperse for the rainbow. His voice gives off a slightly greenish color...well, I thought it was green at first but then I realized it was just a mixture of glowing navy blue and golden yellow, with a hint of silver. Oh! And a deep royal purple too. That’s what’s very mysterious about him too. That royal purple vibe he has. So when you add them, it’s...well...like a feathery lightness to it that’s a bit gold-ish in color or a transparent crystal...depends on the day really. A person’s aura changes in form but the base is still there,” Mana dictated as she studied Yugi.

The males just blinked at her.

Right. 

As usual, Mana’s way of explaining what the aura looked like sounded like gibberish to them. But really, the three teens tried to picture Yugi’s aura floating around him the way Mana had described it. 

And Bakura was the first to lose interest. 

“So, Yami. Tonight? You’re really busy?” he insisted.

The crimson-eyed teen pursed his lips in frustration. “Yes, Bakura. I’m busy. So no. I’ll pass on game night tonight.”

“Why do you have to be such a stick in the mud and study on a _Friday night_? Don’t you just want to have fun on Friday nights?” Marik complained.

Yami scoffed. “I’ll have you know that I do have my own form of fun on Fridays.”

His two cousins snorted. “Yeah right. Because studying for Calculus is _so much fun_ ,” Bakura mocked.

Yami remained silent as he rolled his eyes and went back to his textbook.

 

* * *

 

Yami grunted as his back hit his sofa bed, his legs dangling at the arm rest. “You know,” he started as he pulled the lithe body on top of him so their faces were levelled, “my bed is more comfortable. I know you’re pissed, but I like to be able to walk without the extra strain on my back the next morning.” Lips attacked his in a searing kiss and he moaned when a little pink tongue slipped in to play with his. His bronze hands went to work to pull the body closer to him, his legs opening to capture the body around them.

“Are we comfortable now?” the teen on top of him asked with a playful smirk.

The crimson-eyed teen rolled his eyes and started to remove his school jacket. “You’re impatient today.” He attached his lips to the teen’s neck then travelled up to nibble an ear lobe.

“And you’re surprised? Didn’t you hear the news or was your head that way up in your ass that you couldn’t hear anything?” the teen yelped as Yami bit his earlobe too hard. “You’re a fucking ass, Yami.”

“And you’re still wearing too many clothes, Yugi,” he retorted as he took off his undershirt revealing his tan chest that the amethyst-eyed teen loved so much.”Now. Strip,” Yami commanded softly before kissing the boy on top of him again.

Yugi giggled but followed orders. He took off his school jacket and black shirt and threw it in the direction where his neck belt was supposedly was after Yami almost tore it off his neck when they got to Yami’s place. He felt hands hold onto his hips and a clothed hard-on rub against him. Yugi groaned into the kiss. The stress of today was already getting to him since he got attacked by the gorilla that was Ushio. Add the multiple whispering and annoying looks from the other students who had heard about the little incident, plus the cherry on top, his friends annoying impulse to shield him from everything, and Yugi was just a bomb waiting to detonate with frustration. Best way to cool off, Fridays with Yami.

Yugi’s lips went down to Yami’s neck while his hands started to undo the taller teen’s pants. “I should be insulted that you’re using my body to relieve stress,” Yami gasped as he felt Yugi’s hand grab him. Yami fumbled with Yugi’s jeans since he was torn between the need to get the boy naked and the need to shove his tongue down the boy’s throat. He should be used to this by now, and he should be getting sick of it, but he wasn’t. He wanted more. So much more. He knew he was being used, but then he was getting just as much satisfaction from what they were doing. What did that say about him? That he was Yugi’s unpaid and willing whore? That sounded sick and wrong. And it didn’t match the way Yami felt when he kisses Yugi, when he feels the smaller teen’s hands touch him intimately. Sex with Yugi never felt wrong.

“Do you want to stop?” Yugi asked, his mind not really paying attention to the conversation and was too busy kissing the delicious body in front of him.

“Fuck no,” Yami growled. He pulled Yugi’s hair slightly so he could kiss him on the lips.

“Yeah, my thoughts exactly,” Yugi groaned when he finally got Yami off his lips so they could take each other’s pants off. “And besides, you’re using me too since you insisted we go to your place. You’re pissed because Ms. Witch-from-Calculus-Hell humiliated you in class today by calling you, in her own special way, a smart ass? You deserved that by the way,” he chuckled then kissed the taller teen again. Their teeth clash as they kissed, their hands interlaced and was forced down on either side of Yami’s head while the smaller teen situated himself between tan legs. They both groaned when their arousal came in contact and Yugi started to rub body against the boy beneath him.

He scoffed. “I was just saying what everyone wanted to say.”

Yugi ran his pink tongue up and down Yami’s neck in reply.

“More,” Yami moaned when rubbing wasn’t enough for him.

“I get to top first tonight,” Yugi said as he poked his partner’s entrance with his finger.

“And next round will be in my bedroom. We can’t be too loud out here or the people outside will hear us. And I want you to _scream_ for me.”

“Deal.”

The crimson-eyed boy groaned when he felt Yugi’s finger enter him. Before he could make any more noise, his moans and screams were muffled by Yugi’s lips. They’ve done this before, and they’ve done this raw the first time. It was painful, but oddly enough, they both preferred it. This wasn’t the first time Yami bottomed before. He had heard guys in his class insult other guys by saying they take it up the ass, but it never occurred to Yami that it would be an insult. He felt intense pleasure whenever Yugi took him, especially when the boy would hit that one special spot, unlike tonight... “Fucking _ass_! You know where it is!” Yami growled. Yugi had been thrusting his finger inside him and poking around but not at his prostate.

After chuckling, Yugi inserted a second finger and hit his prostate. Yami tightened around Yugi’s finger as the mixture of pain and pleasure shook him. The smaller teen moaned as he remembered the sensation of being inside the boy beneath him. “Are we happy now, your Highness?” He drove his fingers in and out of the crimson-eyed teen, making sure to hit the bundle of nerves upon entry. His free hands started to massage the other boy’s side causing a series of shivers and moans. “Hmm… I like it when you moan for me, sweetie, but we can’t afford people hearing you,” Yugi teased. He clamped the mouth of the moaning puddle of Yami as he teased the boy’s prostate with an evil smirk on his face.

Scarlet eyes blazed with lust and annoyance towards the smirking teen. Yugi likes to call him ridiculous pet names to annoy and tease him. It was a quirk the boy had whenever they were together. Like a way for him to rile Yami up. The crimson-eyed teen had theorized that maybe, in Yugi’s perspective, Yami was better in bed when he was frustrated or annoyed. Another theory was maybe it was Yugi’s personal game or goal to annoy his darker look alike during sex and see if he would break. Yami’s curses were muffled by the hand and Yugi was enjoying it too much he had to laugh as he inserted the third finger. Yami’s eyes rolled up in ecstasy as he felt himself stretch. He knew Yugi wasn’t patient enough to prolong foreplay, but he wasn’t an idiot to enter his partner raw without preparing him first. “You like torturing me don’t you?” Yami asked with a glower when Yugi finally removed his hand from his mouth.

“Actually, I just like seeing you frustrated, cranky, and pissy. You’re more fun that way,” he replied as he thrusted his fingers fast and hard inside Yami rewarding him a mixture of a gasp and groan from his captive.

“Get on with the program, Mutou,” Yami hissed, “Fast and hard, seeing as you’ve already taken your _sweet_ time with foreplay after giving me the impression you wanted something rough.” He whined when the fingers left him then growled when the tip of Yugi’s hard member poked numerous times at his entrance.

“Knock knock,” Yugi teased. The taller teen glared and held onto the pale shoulders as he wrapped his tan legs around Yugi’s waist and pushed the teen inside him until Yugi was fully inside him. The smaller teen gasped at the tight heat while Yami groaned when a shot of pain went up to his spine. “You, impatient, horny, _bastard_!” Yugi scolded, “I could’ve hurt you.”

“Ooohh, bastard. Is that your new bedroom nickname for me now?” the crimson-eyed teen snickered while tears fell from his eyes.

Yugi held still and his eyes soften with concern as he wiped the tears away. “Shut up! I could’ve hurt you, you know that?” He started kissing his partner’s face and neck lightly, his hands massaging his sides to ease the pain. Yami had a pleasure point at his hips. He rubbed his thumbs on them in a circular motion to numb the pain with pleasure.

Yami blinked as he stared into those amethyst eyes. He felt his heart beat fast at the intensity that gaze held. “Shut up and _move_!” he snapped. He rolled his hips to gain the sweet friction he’d been craving. With his hands above his head holding onto the armrest of the sofa, he bit his lip as he continuously rolled his hips. He felt Yugi slip out and he arched his back to pull him back in. He felt his mouth clamped down with a hand again then the sensation of Yugi’s reentry shot his eyes open and a yelp fell from his lips. “More,” he groaned through Yugi’s hand. The smaller teen’s hard thrusts was making him incapable of speaking coherent sentences. Luckily, Yugi granted his wish and picked up his pace.

The hand on Yami’s mouth was replaced with lips, and the taller teen happily opened his lips to have his tongue play their favorite game with Yugi’s. He knew Yugi’s taste by now. He’d probably memorized the inside of his mouth with the insane amount of times they’ve kissed each other, but Yami felt like he’d happily drown in Yugi’s kisses just so he could have his sweet taste on his tongue. He slowly opened his eyes and was surprised to see that Yugi’s eyes were open as well. They pulled away to get lost in the intensity of each other’s eyes. Yami turned away from the intense gaze by burying his face into Yugi’s neck and showered him with kisses. “Sit up, I want to ride you,” Yami whispered against the pale skin.

Yugi shifted his position while still inside his partner and Yami bit the back of his hand to cover his moan. He sat up and straddled Yugi’s waist. “You okay, pretty boy?” Yugi asked as he positioned himself with his back against the armrest, hands on Yami’s waist and the heels of his feet planted on couch for extra leverage. He bucked his hips as Yami slammed down back on his arousal.

“Gods yes!” Yami hissed the moment a shock of pleasure rolled through his whole body when his prostate was hit again. His hands were on Yugi’s shoulders and his lips were on his neck again. Every time he slammed down, it felt like Yugi was going deeper into him. They were both close. Yami wrapped his arms around Yugi’s shoulders and kissed the boy hard to silence each other. The coil in their bellies were ready to release. One of Yami’s hands held onto the armrest behind Yugi for more leverage as he slammed down harder and faster.

“Hey, Yami, wanna go with-HOLY FUCK!” Bakura’s brown eyes went wide at the sight before him. His cousin, Marik, was behind him who was more shocked than mortified.

The two naked teens on the couch froze in place at the sound of the voice of someone they know. The crimson-eyed teen ground his teeth and snapped at his cousin, “GET OUT! I’LL TALK TO YOU TOMORROW! GET OUT!” His cousins didn’t need to be told twice as they closed the door and left. When the door slammed closed, Yami sighed and looked down on the figure beneath him. “I think we forgot to lock the door,” he said. There was laughter to be heard at the other side of the door and Yami groaned in frustration and buried his face in Yugi’s neck.

Yugi shook his head and laughed, “It’s fine… I think. I just hope they don’t blab about this.” He expertly rolled his hips and continued stroking Yami’s member. When the taller teen threw his head back as he moaned and started to move again, their movements became more desperate for release. “Come on, sweetie. I know you’re close. Let go,” Yugi ran his tongue along Yami’s neck as his free hand started to massage the small of Yami’s back, triggering the taller boy’s violent release, spilling his seed in Yugi’s hand. Yami held onto Yugi and laid back down on the couch so Yugi was on top. The smaller teen pounded harder into him until he eventually came inside Yami. He kissed the crimson eyed teen instead of screaming his orgasm.

They lay beside each other, panting and shaking in the aftershocks of their orgasm. Yugi slowly pulled out of Yami which made the crimson-eyed teen whimper. Yugi chuckled lightly and took a few tissues from the coffee table. Lifting the other boy’s leg, he started to wipe Yami’s ass.

“What are you doing?” Yami squirmed at the very vulnerable position he was put in.

“Washing the sofa after having sex on top of it is quite difficult especially when using a condom is not our top priority,” Yugi explained. He sighed in relief when he found no blood on tissue. “Well, you didn’t tear due to your impatient and stupid moment a while ago,” he scowled disapprovingly at the teen beneath him. “I could’ve really hurt you, Yami. Please don’t do something stupid like that again. I’m the one with the ‘self-destructive’ nature not you.”

Scoffing, Yami took some tissues and took Yugi’s hand that was still covered in his seed to wipe it clean. “You’re not self-destructive. That’s just your friends talking. If you were actually self-destructive, you’d be having sex with Ushio and not me.”

Yugi winced, “I think I just lost my boner.” He smacked the other teen’s arm before taking the tissues and getting up to throw them in the trash. “Even if the world crowned me as its overlord if I slept with him, I’d still say no. And besides,” he came back on the couch and tan arms encircled his waist, “I already got you, pretty boy.” He tapped the tip of Yami’s nose and giggled.

Yami stared at the boy in his arms and did his best to snap out of his stupor. His heart was betraying him again. Clearing his throat he stood up slowly to look into the peephole to check if his cousins were still there. Luckily for him, they were gone. He checked his phone, and sure enough, there were text messages from Bakura and Marik. He groaned as he walked back to the couch to collect Yugi and their clothes so they could continue in the bedroom.

“What’s the damage, pretty boy?”

Yami just showed the text messaged to him and the smaller teen laughed hard at the first message.

**‘Told Seto about you. He’s still recovering from his laughter… He chuckled. I know, we’re shocked too. We’re already looking at our parents’ secret stash for enough alcohol to get you to talk.’**

 

* * *

 

Yami woke with a numbing pain at his back but he was used to it. He blinked a few times to see that it was still dark. Adjusting to the darkness, his eyes spotted the digital alarm clock to see that it was still five in the morning. He sighed and nuzzled his face at the scent of oranges that came from Yugi, whether it came from his hair or his skin, it didn’t matter, he still smelled amazing to Yami. His sleep was escaping him, an in an attempt to get it back, he closed his eyes and tightened his embrace around the smaller teen then drown in his natural scent.

Every morning, they will always wake up in each other’s arms. Most of the time, they were spooning, with Yugi as the little spoon. On rare occasions, Yugi would be facing Yami and clinging onto him as he slept, which delighted the darker teen. But Yami also preferred this position of sleeping. He always found himself sleeping better with his face buried in Yugi’s hair, enjoying the other teen’s warmth and the way Yugi would push himself closer to Yami involuntarily.

Feeling bold, Yami slowly slid his hand, searching for Yugi’s, and when he was successful, he entwined their fingers and he smiled. Moments like this were his most favorite whenever he was with Yugi. He had the opportunity to be greedy and take advantage of Yugi’s unconscious state and just hold him the way Yami preferred. Yugi would never allow this level of intimacy between them. This, whatever this is they have between them, was purely a distraction. A release. Like what they said earlier, they were just using each other to let out pent up frustrations and nothing more.

He didn’t mind that the hand wasn’t giving a reassuring squeeze like he’d want. He didn’t really expect Yugi to. Getting greedier, he slowly hooked his leg around Yugi’s and pulled him closer against his body if it were possible. He froze when Yugi squirmed, then his heart soared when he felt the hand he was grasping tighten the hold. When the hold loosened, Yugi gave out a long sigh before groaning. He was waking up.

Involuntarily, Yami frowned, his eyes still closed. His moment of selfishness was now over. It’ll be another seven days before he could have another one. He kept his arms around Yugi, as if being dead weight and waited for Yugi to squirm more, signalling his awakeness. His hold on Yugi’s hand was now nonexistent as Yugi took his hand back. The amethyst-eyed teen rolled and face Yami. Crimson-eyes blinked rapidly to adjust again to the darkness to connect with Yugi’s gem-like eyes.

Yugi pushed him away softly and Yami complied so the smaller teen could get up. Before getting up, Yugi lie on his back so he could stretched his body like a cat then swung his legs to the edge of the bed and pick up his clothes.

Yami sat up and watched Yugi as he put his clothes back on. For some reason, Yugi kept his back to him until he got his boxers and tank top on, as if he was ashamed to have Yami see his naked front. The room as silent, save for Yugi’s fumbling as he dressed. He could feel Yami’s eyes on him but he ignored it. The mornings were always the most awkward for them. Yugi eyed his neck first and grazed his fingers around the marks Yami had placed before he put on his choker, covering the marks from the world.

When he was finally dressed, he finally made eye contact with Yami. “Bye, Yami.” The statement didn’t hold a finality with it and the gentle smile on Yugi’s face was enough to put Yami at ease.

Yami gave a curt nod and Yugi answered the nod before leaving the room and walking fast towards the front door and leave Yami’s house.

 

* * *

 

“You weren’t lying when you told us you have your own form of fun on Fridays,” Marik snickered.

Yami downed another shot of tequila, he bit on the lime to ease the burning line he felt from his throat to his stomach. He had chosen this over vodka. Vodka tasted like shit to him and it wasn’t going to make the Bakura, Seto, and Marik Inquisition bearable at all. All secrets were bound to be uncovered, and something like this wasn’t going to stay a secret for too long. Deep inside, Yami had wanted all the secrets and hiding to just stop, but that would mean that he and Yugi would have to stop seeing each other every Friday. And he wasn’t sure if he wanted that.

“So, you and the shrimp are fuck buddies and you guys do it every Friday,” Bakura said as he leaned back on the couch with his arms on the backrest, crossing his feet. He was the one with the highest tolerance to alcohol, after that was Seto, then Marik, and then Yami. Seto settled for a glass of bourbon, Marik was holding a bottle of beer while Bakura shared the tequila with Yami. “How in the world did _I_ miss that? More importantly, how in Ra’s name did the shrimp’s security detail miss it?” The white-haired male had always been so observant with regards to the small quirks a person has, but usually, the person has to hold the male’s interest first. Bakura was very hard to please, anything could make a person interesting to him, to others, even to his cousins, Bakura’s rubric for interest was very arbitrary, but the white-haired male had just shrugged at that.

“Is ‘studying for an exam’ code for ‘I’m fucking Yugi tonight’?” Marik asked with a smirk on his face. He sat on the carpeted floor of Seto’s rec room where the four of them were. He stretched his legs and rested his chin on his palm as those lavender eyes gazed at their youngest cousin.

“Shut up and let him speak,” Seto interrupted. The brunet was hard to read at the moment. He was subtle with his smirks and his chuckles during the ride to the Kaiba mansion. Mokuba was asleep and just in case Seto’s little brother might learn how to sleep walk, they stayed in the soundproof rec room and locked the door. Since Yami had told the whole fuck buddy situation, he had been stoic and studying his crimson-eyed cousin.

Yami poured himself another shot before speaking, “On Fridays, his friends have part-time jobs. Once the school day has ended, his grandfather is already on his way to Tokyo to teach weekend classes at the university there. The old man stays at a colleague’s apartment for the weekend and comes back Sunday afternoon.” There wasn’t any point in hiding this from them, but getting the information out was difficult for Yami.

“I’m guessing you guys usually do this in his house.” Bakura twirled his hair with his finger. “So, why were you guys at your place, where all three of us have a key to? I know your dad is still In Egypt for work and won’t be back til the start of the next semester, your place is a _prime_ location for booty calls, but you wouldn’t risk being caught by us.”

Yami groaned and rolled his eyes. He had always imagined how this talk would go down. He had prepared himself from the probing since the first time he and Yugi had played between the sheets. But no amount of preparation was ever enough when faced with the three pairs of eyes staring at him right now. A dominant trait between the four of them was their attention to detail in everything. Bakura has the quirks, Marik was good with cause and effect, Seto and Yami with environmental reactions. All were good with taking note of them and storing them into memory for future use. Bad thing about it, none of them could lie to one another. It was how they found out Bakura was gay, Marik was bi and seeing someone since his visit in Egypt, and it’s how they were going to extract the truth from Yami. They had yet to put Seto under the microscope. The eldest cousin and CEO of Kaiba Corp had the best poker face of them all. So did Yami, but the red-eyed teen just made a colossal mistake.

“I… got impatient,” was Yami’s pathetic answer which also triggered a round of laughter from Bakura and Marik. He eyed his brunet cousin to see a victorious smirk on his face. Seto loved it when Yami made mistakes. The smirk dissolved back into Seto’s blank expression and the brunet raised an elegant eyebrow. Yami pursed his lips, “Ask it now, Seto.”

“How long?”

Oh this was the kicker.

“Our first was after Miho’s party,” Yami took another shot. Before his cousins could ask more, he rolled his eyes. Quick like a bandaid. “Our second time was the first Friday of senior year. He and I take the same route going home and he was walking alone since Joey and Tristan were in detention and Tea had a student council meeting. When we got to his place, I visited their game shop, looked at a few rare cards, and next thing I know, we were in his bedroom making out.” He held out his hand to stop the others from talking while he took another shot. He needed alcohol since he could feel himself hesitating. Quick like a bandaid. “That night, we agreed to make it a regular thing. Worked out the schedule and how to avoid getting caught, and yes, I know. I screwed up. But we mostly planned on how we wouldn’t get caught by his friends and grandfather. I know you guys wouldn’t blab to the school. I trust you guys. But Yugi has his friends to deal with. So yeah. Every Fridays, we go to his place, fuck, finish homework, have a snack or take a nap, fuck some more then I leave in the morning before breakfast.”

“Miho’s party huh?” Bakura snickered. “Didn’t we drag you out of your house to go to that party? Looks like you have us to thank for your little romp with Yugi then.”

“You know his best friend, Tea, is obsessed with you, right? Who’s considered the home-wrecker, Tea or Yugi?” Marik inquired. He took a swig of beer then his eyes widen in amusement, “And isn’t he in love with Tea?”

“Well it’s obvious that he’s uninterested now seeing as he’s dicking Yami, don’t you think?” Bakura replied. “So, you’re the bottom in this little contract of yours? Because we had an _amazing_ view of the both of you on your couch last night.”

It was only Yami who noticed this since he was sitting directly across from Seto. The brunet CEO furrowed his brows, looked at Bakura then went back to his original facial expression all in a span of a second. Yami took note of the odd reaction and banked it in his brain.

“We both bottom. And before you ask, Yugi bottomed for the first few times before I did.” Yami had stopped the tequila shots. Any more and he might take a cab and go to Yugi’s place for a quicky, he could never trust himself when he’s drunk. “Let’s not go into the whole topic of my sexuality right now. I’m still trying to wrap my head around that.” He glared at Bakura’s silent question. It wasn’t because he didn’t like being called queer, it was more of, he hadn’t considered what he really was. He was attracted to Yugi, he knows when a girl or a guy is considered attractive but he hadn’t felt any attraction to anyone except the enigmatic amethyst-eyed teen. “Any more questions I haven’t answered?”

“When will you decide to stop?” It was Seto’s first question since the interrogation began. When Yami met up with Bakura and Marik at his place, the two already bombarded him with very inappropriate questions. Yami tilted his head and tried to study his cousin. Seto rolled his eyes at him, “I know you, Yami. You like this boy, and from the looks of it, you guys are just using each other. He’s using you to let out some pent up frustrations, be a little self-destructive, while you let him, because you _like_ him. You use him to get the satisfaction of being with someone you like. Your own version of self destruction.”

_Damn Seto to the deepest pits of hell._

Yami could lie through his teeth to save his life, but not in front of his cousins. They already know his tell. “I’m pretty sure I-”

“You need to stop now,” Seto’s voice was hard but the way he said it wasn’t a command. “You might as well be in love with this kid. Then you’re going to crash and burn when this ends with you guys separated. So might as well just end this now before any damage can be done. Or suffer through a future of you making a fool out of yourself because you thought he felt the same way you did.”

Scarlet eyes blazed with annoyance. “That’s a _lot_ to conclude from me sleeping around, Seto. And you know this from what, experience? I highly doubt that. So don’t think you know everything.”

“Fine,” was Seto’s curt answer before downing his fourth glass of bourbon. Conversation has ended and Seto was back to being unreadable. That didn’t mean he just gave his cousins a reaction they will use against him in the future.

Everyone left the rec room and went to the usual rooms they take when they sleepover at the mansion. Yami wasn’t able to sleep. Not enough alcohol was going to make him sleep with Seto’s words hanging above his head. When did they plan to stop? If they were just fuck buddies then this was bound to end sooner or later. It’s possible they would end after graduation, when they had to go their separate ways. The mere thought of them never seeing each other again suddenly gave him a heavy heart. It also made him nervous. Of course he didn’t want that to happen. His own body was already telling him that he wasn’t going to survive when they separated. He was fucked.

All he had to do was deny it with all his might.

 

* * *

 

Monday rolled in all too soon for Yami. As he walked in the school gates, there was Yugi standing under the same tree him and his friends would stay in before the first school bell rang. Amethyst eyes were looking at him nervously. Yami knew what those eyes meant. He gave a soft smile and nodded. He shifted his eyes around the area and sighed in relief that no one saw their exchange. They were both worried if Bakura and Marik finding out was a good thing. Yami knew that he could trust his cousins, but Yugi doesn’t. He could never blame the smaller teen from doing so since he barely knew them.

Yami tilted his head in confusion when he saw those same amethyst eyes widen in shock. Yugi was obviously not looking at him but at something behind him. He turned around and blanched at the sight of a familiar brunette.

“Hi, Yami,” Tea purred.

The crimson-eyed teen backed away slowly and visibly winced at how close Tea was to his face. Her lips mere inches away from his. There were alarms blaring in his ears since he knew Yugi was watching them. He turned towards the smaller teen and begged with his eyes for help. But the boy merely looked at them in wonder. He was looking more at Yami than at Tea. Exasperated with Tea and a little confused with Yugi’s expression he walked towards the amethyst-eyed boy and grabbed his wrist.

“Sorry, Tea, but Yugi and I have class and he’s my partner in one of our assignments.” He then turned to Yugi who was wide-eyed but still silent. “Come, _partner_ , we have class.” Yami dragged Yugi into the school building without looking back at the confused brunette he left outside.

“Uhh...What the hell was that?” Yugi hissed in a hushed whisper. “I was doing fine over there at my spot watching you handle Tea, thank you very much,” he said haughtily.

Rolling his eyes, Yami scoffed. “When will that girl ever learn that I’m not interested in her?” He bit his lip and looked hesitantly at his companion. Tea, as the whole school probably knew, was Yugi’s oldest best friend and crush. Yami had never asked if the crush has already faded now that they were somewhat together. Since Yugi had never said anything about it, Yami just assumed that the smaller teen was still enamored by the brunette and was throwing his frustrations his way.

Meanwhile, Yugi chuckled at Yami’s frustration. “What Tea wants, she gets...and she won’t stop until she gets it,” he said simply. “Don’t worry, once high school is over, everything will be.”

Yami tensed at that. Everything? Did that also mean their little Friday night meetings would end after high school too? He shook his head lightly and blinked. “What do you mean?” he finally asked once his thoughts calmed down.

Yugi hummed, not really paying attention to the other teen but replied nonetheless. “Tea’s planning on going to America, New York specifically to take dancing classes. That’s always been her dream, you know. To become a dancer. So you’re just going to have to put up with it for a few more months until she eventually leaves for America” Yugi left out the little tidbit of the fact that Tea has yet to receive an acceptance letter from the schools she’s been planning on attending.

“What about you?” Yami asked before stopping himself. This conversation was taking longer than he expected and was thankful that Yugi was happily answering his questions.

Pursing his lips, Yugi replied, “I want to take archaeology but... I also want to take game design… Backpacking around the world for a couple of years before finally choosing a major is a pretty great idea too. In short, I haven’t exactly decided yet. And you?” He raised an eyebrow at his companion as they entered their still empty classroom.

Yami blinked at the question. “I… In all honesty, I haven’t thought of what to do in the future just yet… Maybe play Duel Monsters professionally for a few years until I eventually choose a major. Then retire my crown.” He smirked at himself. He hadn’t thought of his future mostly because of his career as a the reigning King of Games. Being the KOG gave him personal invitations to big tournaments that had big cash prizes. He thought that maybe he could probably live off of his winnings.

“That sounds kinda cool. Maybe I’ll do that too,” Yugi chirped.

“You play?” Of course Yami knew Yugi played. But Yugi didn’t need to know that.

“Sometimes,” Yugi replied coyly and winked before walking towards his seat on the other side of the classroom.

Yami’s heart started to flutter at the playful wink Yugi gave him.

_Damn you, Seto._

The crimson-eyed teen blinked but before he can reply and ask Yugi more, students came filing in the classroom, ending their conversation. Ryou was already at his seat next to Yugi and they were already talking.

Seto’s words bothered him too much, and the fact that his fondness over his pale look alike was growing just added to the mix. Sitting down on his desk, he tried to think of other things by looking at his worksheets for their computer class. The only class he gets to sit next to Yugi. Thanks to his teacher’s weird humor, he had tagged the duo as “lab partners” for the thrice a week subject. He was a new teacher that was quite amused with how similar the two looked so much that he made them partners for the whole year.

Maybe he _is_ a good human being and the gods were rewarding him.

Months of spending time with him and, not that he’d ever admit it to anyone, years of observing him, Yami had been putting together the puzzle pieces to the big picture that was Yugi Mutou. On the surface, the boy was an absolute catch. He knew what that slender body looked like without clothes. No amount of beating could taint that pale alabaster skin, he would bruise for a few days and then it’s like it was never there. Cuts from punches rarely give a scar, especially on his face. He has big amethyst eyes that, back in freshman year, held a shining light in them. Now, those eyes still held light, but it was fiery light. So intense and so mesmerizing, Yami loved to drown in them when they were together. His slender body wasn’t well displayed in the school uniform. Yugi had a growth spurt at junior year. No one noticed it, not his friends, not even Yugi himself, but Yami did. The boy still wore the same clothes so it made him look awkward. He’d seen him in his casual wear. He always wore a black ensemble that was, just like his uniform, a size too small. But unlike the uniform, his black tank top and leather pants just hugged his body. People always teased him for being a BDSM slut because of the choker, studded black belt, and leather cuffs and yet those became his signature.

Yugi also had intelligence and wit. The teen lives above a game shop, Yami had seen his deck box but has yet to ask him about it. He’d heard from his cousins that Yugi was a good duelist who always wins the local tournaments. Being the King of Games, Yami was intrigued by Yugi’s dueling skills. He’d seen the teen tackle calculus Yugi was an A-grade student. During the first couple of years, people thought his high grades were a result of the teachers pitying him since his parents’ humiliated him in front of the entire school by arguing and announcing that they were getting a divorce out loud for everyone to hear.

And yet, Yami has yet to find any signs that Yugi has feelings for him too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! That's the first chapter for "Are We Really Doing This?" the AU fic I wrote during NaNoWriMo 2016, I won NaNoWriMo but I was only half done with the fic. As you can see, characters are OOC. Oh and btw, this won't have Puppyshipping. I know, the horror. But I need it to be that way for a reason. This fic is also available on FF.net and I figured since I also have an account here, why not just post here? Also, I am loving how easier it is to post my stuff here, which means I might update here more often than in FF. I hope you guys like this first chapter. Please review and tell me what you guys think.


	2. Multiple Possibilities and Complications

"Why does Yami always look so fresh every Friday?" Tea gushed as she stared dreamily at the object of her affections.

Staring down at his worksheet, Yugi rolled his eyes and sighed. He knew Tea was waiting for an answer, and he knew Tristan and Joey wouldn't give an answer. Joey hated the guy and Tristan wasn't going to bother humoring Tea's delusions. Years of spoiling Tea has given him the curse of having to answer everything the girl asked. The other boys at the table were already signaling him to talk, he didn't have to look up from his worksheet to check. "Maybe he slept well last night or is expecting a great weekend or Friday night," he supplied. He tried his best hide the smirk that was slowly forming on his face. Oh how he wishes that Yami was excited for Friday night.

"Didn't you say that you guys have a calculus exam? Why would anyone relax about that?"

Yugi rubbed his temple. Tea was using her nasally annoying voice again. She gained said trait when she hit puberty, like she was a guy who permanently had a problem with his voice changing an octave. He closed his eyes and then finally looked up at Yami. He had been avoiding looking at that table all day since there was a high chance that two of the occupants there were looking at him or studying his motions. Sure enough, Bakura and Marik instantly turned their heads at his direction with a smirk before looking at their cousin who was memorizing formulas for the exam. He and Yugi had been testing each other last Friday to keep their minds off of the little interruption they had earlier. Yami was good at memorizing things when he was testing with a partner. Studying alone made him anxious. Of course he didn't have to say that to Tea.

Yugi took a big bite of the chili pepper on his lunch. He could still feel himself blush from the quick eye contact with Bakura and Marik. His and Yami's stupidity to forget to lock the damn door was phenomenal. Thankfully, the two cousins could be trusted. Yugi trusted Yami and Yami trusted his cousins wholeheartedly with their little secret. Just because he could trust them doesn't mean he wasn't embarrassed with it.

"Maybe studying alone relaxes him." He kept his tone even and uninterested. He looked at Tristan and Joey to gauge their reactions. Tea was too lovesick to care if he slipped, but the two boys liked to overthink if it concerned a certain Yami Sennen.

Joey scoffed and rolled his eyes, "Studying _relaxes_ him? How much of an uptight pompous ass can he be?" Joey wasn't going to be Yami's fan any time soon since he got suspended when Yami told the teacher that Joey wasn't pulling his weight on one of the projects the two were paired up together. Knowing Yami, intimately even, the super uptight ass would never let even violent Joey Wheeler put him down. Yami was smart enough to make the project on his own, the moment he realized Joey wasn't going to help, he told the teacher, and Joey was forced to work on the project alone on top of his suspension. The teacher felt that Joey would have more than enough time at home to finish the project.

"Let it go, Joey," Tea dismissed. "Yugi helped you with the project anyways."

"Yeah, and he became too busy to do _ours_ ," Tristan complained.

" _Enough_ ," Yugi scolded. He always felt like a single parent when Joey and Tristan were acting up. "Point is, we all passed and _you_ ," he pointed at Joey with his pen, "didn't get anything more serious than a record."

"You should be thankful. Mrs. Hieda has a grudge on freeloaders. You know that." Tea flipped her hair and raised her eyebrow at Joey. Yugi sighed and tuned out. He already knew where this was going. Tea will defend Yami to the teeth, Joey fears Tea and will retort a few times until he caves. Tristan won't help, he knows better, and they won't expect any reaction from Yugi. This was their friendship dynamic. Tea sees it as them being in tune to everyone's temperaments. She could be right about that. Yugi had been programmed to tune them out without popping a vein. Tristan knew when to shut up, Joey feared Tea's temper while Tea can be controlled using buzz words uttered by Yugi which usually involved his exotic red-eyed classmate.

Lately, Yugi had started noticing small quirks in their dynamic that he can barely tolerate now. Like the way Tea would talk to him about her many fantasies starring Yami, then Joey would insult the guy about everything, even his hair. Which is weird to say with Yugi in the room since they had similar hair. When Yami Sennen enrolled in Domino High, Tea developed the most obsessive crush on him. Meanwhile, Yugi had a crush on Tea. Everything about the whole ordeal was odd and annoying to Yugi. He and Yami were quite similar except for the guy's Egyptian features, tan skin, slanted red eyes, a few extra inches for his height, and some difference in hair color. Apparently, exotic descent topped years of friendship any day for the brunette. Of course Tea was prone to listing off things she 'loved' about his classmate. What Yugi hated was how Tea would also add traits he had similarities with Yami.

Of course the jealousy faded the same time his infatuation faded. Tea started to become annoying and unbearable. But Yugi has had years of training to ignore that well. And unlike the brunette, years of friendship actually mean something to him.

Briefly, Yugi shifted his gaze over to Yami. If years of friendship with Tea really meant something to Yugi, then he would have never have sex with Yami...repeatedly. And yet, here they were, hiding behind people's backs and fooling around in his empty house when his grandfather is gone. It was possible that Yugi cared so much about his friendship with Tea that sleeping with Yami was his way of revenge for the blatant rejection. But he had never considered himself a vindictive person, especially when he already had Joey and Tristan for that. Yami wasn't like Joey, Tristan, or Tea, thank the heavens, but he wasn't officially his friend that he can hang-out in public either.

Brief study sessions with Yami, and some joking and teasing during sex, made Yugi realize that they could've been great friends if he had the chance to hang out with him. That little scenario had two setbacks, Joey and Tea. Joey hated the guy and Tea was obsessed with him. So hanging out with Yami wasn't in the stars for him. Was that really his reason? Joey was mostly just bitter that someone ratted him out for freeloading, and Tea...well, Yugi wasn't exactly sure how and when will the girl's delusions fade. Deep inside, Yugi knew that should he and Yami had started hanging out like friends, the likelihood of them having sex was close to never.

He had admitted it to himself that he liked sex with Yami. What he hadn't admitted yet was that they had to stop sooner or later, preferably now, before anyone got hurt, especially Yugi. But Yugi himself didn't want to stop. They've already had sex, if they wanted to just be normal-not-fucking-each-other friends, it'll be quite difficult with all the secrets between them. Stopping the Friday night sessions would mean stopping seeing each other ever. Everything would be too awkward and any conversation shared between them could trigger a memory shared between them which could lead to them naked in bed together again. And the vicious cycle will begin.

Yeah. Being normal friends with Yami was _not_ ideal.

Walking back to class, Yugi chanced a glance at Yami. He gave a soft smile at the crimson-eyes teen's direction and the boy just blinked in confusion before smiling in amusement.

Okay. So they were still cool.

Yugi sat on his usual seat near the window and sighed. Maybe he was overthinking it. He and Yami could look civil inside a classroom for three months and no one's caught anything. Yami has followed him to his shop every Friday and no one has noticed _anything._ Nothing was wrong.

"Hey, Yugi! Something bothering you?" Ryou, his seatmate asked. Ryou was a sweet and precious thing and Yugi's friend who did _not_ sit with him and his friends at the cafeteria during lunch. Joey thinks he's such a geek for playing RPG. In Yugi's opinion, Joey was just jealous that Ryou had such a large group of girls following him around giving him sweets and gifts.

Yugi glanced at Yami quickly who already had his eyes on his desk before looking at his white-haired friend's big brown doe-eyes. "I'm good, Ryou. I just want this week to end," he chuckled.

"I know what you mean. But next week will be the dreadful week," Ryou exhaled dramatically before giggling. He had such an adorable boyish charm that girls cannot get enough of. Yugi saw it as a kind aura, an old soul. "You have weekend plans?" he gave a crooked smile that was supposedly a smirk but Ryou's soft features couldn't show any malice.

"It's nothing. Hey, Ryou… I've never seen you pass by the cafeteria. Where do you eat during lunch time?" Yugi asked.

Ryou rarely went to the cafeteria except when he bought his lunch, but the white-haired teen preferred to cook so he rarely had to. "I ate here in the classroom. Avoid confrontation and high school drama," he joked.

Yugi smiled. Ryou was a breath of fresh air from all the drama. They met when Ushio decided to be part of the welcoming committee when Ryou came to Domino High last year. Yugi happened to pass by when Ushio cornered the new kid. Yugi knew what it felt like to be cornered by bullies and be ignored by people who were passing by. And despite the bullying, Ryou was still so optimistic, unlike Yugi who has decided that everyone who passed by and did nothing to save him all those times were assholes and cowards.

"How's your studying for the exam?" Yugi asked. They still had ten minutes before the school bell signalled for the start of the next period.

Ryou shrugged, "Uneventful. It's hard studying with the neighbor's dog having muscle spasms."

"How do you know he's got muscle spasms?"

"I called the vet. The poor thing was twitching, has very low energy, and the thing that's keeping me up at night, pain. He's moaning in pain and the owner thinks he's just being emotional," Ryou shook his head. "I'm inviting some people over at my house for game night this Friday. Do you want to come over?" Ryou looked up at Yugi with a smile.

"Oh," Yugi shifted his gaze over to Yami again before looking at Ryou. _Lie_. _Lie through your teeth! Improvise!_ "I can't this Friday, Ryou," he said with a tone he's practised a thousand times before. _Think of the best possible reason and don't hurt his feelings. Lie!_ "I promised grandpa I'd finish the inventory of the shop this Friday so I can go out on the weekend. I've been behind my shop duties for two weeks now because of the exam. If I don't finish the inventory, grandpa's going to make me stop working at the shop and I don't get extra money for tournament fees."

_Good lie… Since it was a half truth._

"Oh! Speaking of tournaments, I heard that there's going to be a school tournament during the school fair. It's a fundraiser thing the student council are planning. I think they're trying to get Yami, over there to join." Ryou nodded his head over Yami's direction. "You should join! You always decimate those tournaments."

Yugi smiled at Ryou's excitement. He got closer with Ryou during one tournament that Joey wasn't able to come with. Ever since, Ryou would invite Yugi to tournaments he would hear about through the grapevine and that was how they usually hang out outside of school. Despite his very calm demeanor, he had quite the frightful deck. His occult deck would scare most of the younger competitors and throw off those who would underestimate him. The first time Yugi saw Ryou duel, he couldn't control his laughter as the white-haired teen smiled sweetly at his opponents while his gruesome monsters did the dirty work.

"That depends. I have a lot of stuff going on right now, but a tournament would take my mind off them," he replied.

"Something wrong at home?"

Yugi pursed his lips. "You could say that. Just personal stuff that I have to deal with."

* * *

"On your stomach, precious," Yugi commanded playfully. Yami grumbled but followed orders. Yugi's quirk was something he was growing to hate more and more. The boy liked to call him different pet names when they were together. Yugi had called him Sweetie, Champ, Precious, and the most annoying one, Pretty Boy. Thankfully, he never calls him that when he yells his orgasm. The smaller teen uses the pet names just to chide or get a reaction from Yami.

Yugi straddled the taller teen's thighs and carefully put aside his comforter and some of the extra pillows on his bed so they had room. After cracking his fingers, he started to rub Yami's upper back in slow deliberate motions. Yami jumped at the contact but let out a guttural moan as he felt his muscles turn into jelly. "Oh my sweet Ra, Yugi!" he groaned. "Where did-you know what, I don't care where you learned how to do this. You could've killed someone to learn this and I wouldn't give a damn." He howled in pleasure as Yugi thumbed a knot between his shoulderblades.

Yugi chuckled in amusement. It fascinated him whenever Yami's Egyptian heritage would fall from his lips. "I used to massage grandpa whenever he comes back from his trips. He has a temperamental back. Massages are cheaper than hospital visits."

Yami hummed in both in pleasure and gratitude. "I appreciate the gesture, but what brought this on? Not that I'm complaining or anything."

The smaller teen used his fist to knead the bronze back and he felt the body beneath him shiver at his treatment. "While I was grabbing onto your arms, I felt that there were knots there. I figured, if you had knots on your arms, you probably have on your back." His hands left the back to grab one of Yami's upper arms and squeezed it. The muscle was hard and tense, he used his thumbs to apply pressure to relieve the knots for a bit. "I felt it here," he squeezed on the arm again. "You won't be able to tell the difference when you squeeze your arm, but I can."

Yami hummed, "Don't care. Don't stop." His eyes were closed and gave the control over to Yugi's magical hands. He heard another chuckle from the boy on top of him before he felt pale hands knead his back into submission. His eyes shot open at the spike of pain coming from his right shoulder blade. "Argh! Yugi, that's... What are you doing?" He didn't have to turn around to know that Yugi had shifted his weight on that one spot on Yami's back. Applying, on his opinion, too much pressure. "It hurts, Yugi," he complained. He tried to squirm free, but his thighs were locked around Yugi's.

"I'm sorry, Yami, but you'll be in much more pain tomorrow if I don't do this. I swear that you'll thank me tomorrow," he replied with a grunt. Yugi changed from using his fingers to using his elbow. "I'm not trying to kill you. Just a little more and I'll be done."

Yami fisted the bed sheet beneath him as he held onto the punishment his back was being subjected to. He exhaled a breath he had no idea he was holding when Yugi stopped. He froze momentarily when he felt lips kiss that tortured spot. It wasn't just the massage, but it was gestures like that kiss that made Yami fall for Yugi. The way Yugi would offer a warm washcloth to clean him or if Yami was too lazy and tired, he would do the cleaning himself wearing a soft cute, and ironically innocent smile. But then, there were things that made him reconsider the boy's feelings. One would be the rules to their little engagement.

Admittedly, both of them were freaked out during the first couple of times they've been together that they established a few ground rules. One of which was to keep their nightly activities just between them. No one should know. Of course, Yami had insisted that if his cousins found out, then it would be fine considering Bakura and Marik would never tell a soul about it...except for Seto, but Seto was still under the cousin category. At first, Yugi was hesitant, but allowed it nonetheless. Yami knew that one of his cousins will find out eventually, he wasn't sure when, but if it was too early, then he will lose his only connection with Yugi too soon.

"Hey, Yami?" Yugi asked. His hands were now at the taller teen's lower back. His thumbs were making circles by the hips. "We'll have to skip next week." Grabbing the other boy's wrists, Yugi lifted the slender tan arms up to stretch them. "Family stuff." He heard the boy beneath him groaned but didn't say anything. Another rule that made Yami question Yugi's feelings, and the one that Yugi had been quite adamant and has followed religiously, was to never talk about family. Yami knew why Yugi insisted on this rule. He didn't want to talk about his parents. It was always a sensitive topic to him, one that the bullies in school tried to milk for what it's worth. Some days, they would win and trigger a violent reaction from Yugi. No family conversations meant Yugi was keeping him at an arm's length.

Yami was ordered to sit up so Yugi could massage the other boy's arms. As the smaller teen did his work, he tried to note some of Yami's sensitive spots. He knew of Yami's hips and his neck, but as he rubbed his arms, he noticed that the wrists were sensitive spots as well. They were resting right now. Since they finished studying earlier, they usually had a midnight snack or a quick nap. Now, Yugi decided to give a massage. He was curious by nature, must be the archeologist in him. He liked to study how Yami reacted to his touch. He kept his eyes away from the other boy's face. Yami had the most intense eyes he's ever experienced and whenever they made eye contact, it made him nervous, like Yami was trying to own his soul.

When Yugi switched arms, the one he freed started to run its fingers up and down his back. He bit his lip and squirmed in his position causing the other teen to moan. They both hadn't bothered to put on their underwear, they were just going to rest for a bit before attacking each other again. After a few more moments massaging Yami's am, Yugi looked up and gasped when he saw Yami's eyes. His slanted sharp red eyes were staring right at his soul before they closed and Yami attacked his lips.

In just a few seconds, Yugi was now on his back, his hands above his head and Yami's member inside him. "Yami!" the smaller teen sighed loudly, his eyes rolled back in his head as he rode the high of being filled.

"I appreciate the massage, Yugi. Now let me show you how _grateful_ I am," the taller teen whispered in Yugi's ear. Yami smirked as he felt the boy beneath him shiver. He slowly pulled out of Yugi then stayed in the position which made the smaller teen whine at the lack of friction.

"Yami, you're already inside me and you're still teasing?" Yugi gritted his teeth and glared at the boy that has him pinned on the bed.

Yugi shivered when Yami let out a breathy chuckle against his neck. The taller teen snapped his hips, filling Yugi again. The tight heat enveloped him and he bit his lip hard as he felt his nerves ignite at their connection. When he felt Yugi's nails dig into his back, he started the frantic rhythm of moving in and out of the smaller teen. Yami's ears were filled with the noises Yugi was making, a mixture of moan, pants, and Yami's name being screamed to the heavens. The taller teen kept Yugi's hands above his head in place with one hand, while other held onto the smaller teen's shoulder for more leverage.

"Y-Yami!" Yugi gasped as his prostate was hit after the boy above him shifted his position slightly.

Yami looked at Yugi straight in the eyes and smirked at the vulnerable teen beneath him. Yugi was panting, his hands above his head, and one eye closed. Yami connected his lips with Yugi's and Yugi moved his legs so and wrapped around Yami's waist, pulling the darker teen deeper into him. Yami groaned into their kiss as his free hand palmed Yugi's backside.

When their lips separated, Yami lifted Yugi' waist up slightly and after freeing the other boy's hands from his grasp, he removed the legs around his waist and put them up so they could rest on his shoulders curling the other boy into a ball. Yami's eyes drank the erotic sight that was Yugi and with a guttural moan, he started pounding harder into the willing body beneath him.

Yugi's nerves were on fire with the way Yami touched and moved with him. His eyes drifted away from the crimson eyes that bore into him to watch the night sky from the skylight in his room. Closing his eyes, he ran his finger's through Yami's hair, grabbing it as his prostate was hit repeatedly. He could hear the noises they were both making and with his eyes closed, they sounded more sinful.

He opened his eyes again to connect with Yami's and he gasped at the intensity. Yami's eyes were always intense by nature due to the rare eye color but the look the darker teen was giving him, and every other moment that Yami was looking his way, made his chest tighten and his stomach turn in delight. Yami dove down to kiss him hard and Yugi moaned as he tasted the familiar spicy cinnamon taste that was Yami. Their tongues clashed and the sensation added to the coil in his belly from the pounding he was receiving. He could feel is drool, or was it Yami's, drip down his chin.

Yugi broke away from their kiss to let out a loud groan as he came. Yami buried his face in Yugi's neck and released just moments after.

They looked at each other with content smiles. Yami pulled away from Yugi so they could lie side by side on the bed. Almost by instinct, Yugi curled into Yami and let the taller boy wrap his arms around him and Yugi hummed in contentment as he buried his face in Yami's chest as sleep claimed the both of them.

* * *

Yugi blinked his eyes rapidly as he slowly woke up. From his position on the bed, he and Yami were spooning with him as the little spoon. Their fingers were entwined and Yami has hooked his leg over him again. Yugi had discovered that Yami was such a clingy sleeper. Apparently, the taller boy sleeps deeper and better when he was hugging something, and usually, that something was Yugi. The warmth was very comforting but Yugi needed to stretch and his lower back was killing him from his position last night.

He wiggled slightly so as not to wake the boy surrounding him. Once he was free from Yami's arms, he only had Yami's leg to deal with. Yugi carefully pushed the tan leg off of his body and he was able to get off the bed to stretch and get his boxers on. He looked over to Yami who was still sound asleep trying to reach out for something to hug and Yugi did his best not to chuckle. He got his pillow and gave it to Yami's reaching arms. Yami wrapped his arms around the pillow and slept soundly afterwards without wiggling awake.

Careful not to wake the other up, Yugi left the bedroom and started making breakfast. He made a quick trip to the bathroom so he could clean up. He dampen his hair since it was sticking out more than usual and let it fall to his shoulders, making sure that it was slicked back.

Once he looked a little fresh, he went down to start breakfast. After a few short minutes, he could feel Yami waking up and thumping around the bedroom getting dressed. It was during this time that Yugi would think about should he make breakfast for Yami too. Then again, Yami usually left without a word in the morning and never bothered with breakfast.

As per usual, Yami went down to the main area and rushed out the door with only a passing glance at Yugi.

Yugi couldn't help but scowl as he realized that he wanted Yami to stay. He wanted to talk like real friends do. He wanted to cook Yami breakfast and talk about school, life, interests. He knew the taller teen is a gamer, hell, he was called the King of Games by Pegasus himself. Yami was someone he could totally connect with and be best friends with. But they rarely had friendly talks aside from reviewing for exams. Whatever friendship they had between each other it begins every Friday night and ends every Saturday morning.

* * *

"Hey, Bakura. Do you think Seto's hiding something from us?" Yami asked. He tagged along with his cousins for videogames at Bakura's place. They were trying to finish a survival horror game in one weekend with the lights off. Since Bakura's parents were at home, they had no choice but to tone it down. Yami had offered his place but that got one legendary retort from Marik.

" _You know there's no way in hell we're sitting on the couch that you and Yugi had sex on."_

Instead of arguing or snapping at the blonde, he just rolled his eyes and took a mental note to change the locks on his door when his father comes back from Egypt.

So now, they were in Bakura's living room with energy drinks, popcorn, and other junk food, and they were trying their best not to wake the parentals on the upper floor.

"If he was hiding something, we could've picked it up by now. You know that." The white-haired teen took another swig at his energy drink before focusing back on his laptop. He'd been taking notes of their little adventure game to check for things they missed. Yami was in charge of solving puzzles, Bakura took notes, while Marik held the controller since he was the one who doesn't yell at the screen and have the sudden urge to chuck the controller at the TV whenever there was a jumpscare.

Yami scoffed, "Yeah, like how you picked up that I was sleeping with Yugi for three months." He rolled his eyes and tapped on Marik's shoulder, "Lower left, try the keypad. Bakura has the codes."

Marik nodded and Bakura recited the code. "So it was a fluke. There are hundreds of students in Domino High. And every person who's attracted to a guy who is not sitting at our lunch table has the hots for you. It could've been anyone," Marik replied. "So you like them on the petite side. We don't blame you, you are below average on height." The character entered a new room and the loading screen appeared, giving Marik some time to shift his position on the floor and grabbed a handful of potato chips. "Although… Seto was rather pissy about you and Yugi being fuck buddies. That's actually weird, I mean, he is your _family_ so _why_ would he be so concerned about your well-being?"

"You're just pissed that Seto called you out when he said that you like the shrimp," Bakura chuckled. "Hey, idiot, go back, you missed a room," he kicked at the blonde at the floor then turned back to Yami. "You know Seto. He's not really one for beating around the bush. But I'll admit, he was extra pissy that night...like you struck a nerve or something. But that could mean anything. You guys are always at each other's throats. You think he's hiding a girlfriend from us?"

It was Marik's turn to scoff, " _Right_. If anyone's more uptight than Yami, it would be Seto. The guy's basically married to his laptop, the only girlfriend he could probably have would be Siri." The other two choked on their laughter, doing their best not to make too much noise. Marik's lavender eyes narrowed in frustration at the locked door he encountered. "I missed the room because it was locked, genius. Those notes of yours say anything about _how_ to open it?"

"I think we missed a note. Check the other rooms again," Yami said while Marik grumbled. "Okay, maybe he doesn't _have_ a girlfriend. But what if he's _starting_ to date someone?"

"Mokuba would know about it and you know he's not the best in keeping secrets," Bakura replied quickly.

That was true. Seto's younger brother is a genius with a heart of gold and a straight moral compass. The kid wasn't too closed when it came to talking about the past and feelings unlike his older brother who gave too little reactions to everything. Yami, Marik, and Bakura were all babysitters of the raven-haired kid. If something, like a girlfriend, had bothered Seto, he would know and he would tell them thinking that they could help him with the problem.

"Now that we're done talking about one person who's not here, let's talk about another one who's here but shouldn't," Bakura said with a smirk as he placed his feet on the coffee table. "Shouldn't you be with Yugi and fucking each other's brains out tonight?" he asked nonchalantly.

"He cancelled. Family matters," Yami replied.

"What kind?"

"We don't talk about that kind of stuff." Yami kept his eyes on the screen and took a big gulp of soda.

"Why? No time between ejaculations?" Marik joked.

"That must be hard when all you want is to be close to him, huh?" Bakura asked.

"So the guy's got damage. So what? Yami can just work up the charm and woo Yugi into being his boyfriend." Marik suggested. Ever since he came clean with him dating Malik Ishtar during one summer in Egypt, he was now capable of dating advice. Bakura thinks it's because Malik was rubbing off on him. They've yet to see their cousin's boyfriend in person, but they have seen a picture of the young Egyptian. He was like their cousin's doppleganger only with kinder yes and tamer hair. The teen was such a gentle soul but was quite the firecracker too. At times, they would invite him on game nights when they decide to play some online multiplayer on the weekends. The time difference was difficult, but seeing Marik get disciplined by his younger partner was worth it.

Yami was silent and kept his eyes away from his cousins general direction.

"Oh my fucking Ra, Yami. _Please_ tell me you're not scared of _rejection_?" Bakura whined. "You guys are already fucking on a weekly basis, and you're afraid he'll reject you if you go out on a date?"

"May I remind you that his friends hate me?" Yami snapped.

"Correction, Wheeler hates you. His other friend, Tristan Taylor, he's smart enough not to step in and take sides. Oh, and Tea absolutely _adores_ you. So you should only worry about one friend," Bakura replied.

Marik's laptop that was also on the coffee table started to ring. It was Malik. Yami answered the call and the screen showed a tan blonde teen with soft lavender eyes and a playful smirk.

"Hey, guys!" the blonde chirped in Japanese. His accent was quite prominent but the teen was fluent nonetheless. Malik was homeschooled while he helped his older sister and brother at the museums in Egypt. They usually travel with their exhibits which required him to learn new languages when doing tours and talking to museum curators.

"Hey, babe," Marik replied. "We need your help."

"Oh? What's wrong? Can't find the exit or something?"

"Yami's having boyfriend trouble."

"He's not my boyfriend," Yami corrected.

"Yami's there?" Malik cocked his head on the side. "I thought you guys said he's out with some guy on Fridays."

The crimson-eyed teen rolled his eyes. Of course Marik would tell his boyfriend about him. He was basically breaking cardinal rule number one. "He cancelled because of family matters," he explained.

"Which they are _not allowed_ to talk about. Must be a hard limit for them, right next to anal fisting," Bakura joked. "Are you not deliberately asking Yugi out because of Tea? I know the girl has pathetically come on to you on too many occasions since you moved here and she is, or _was_ , Yugi's crush. Don't look at me like that, everyone knew about that."

"Okay, okay, wait!" Malik interrupted. "Get me up to speed here for a bit. I know who Yugi is but who's Tea?"

"Tea is Yugi's best friend and crush. Brunette, blue eyes, has an obsession over Yami and wants to do him," Marik quipped.

"A complication," Malik concluded. For someone who was younger than the three of them, Malik was the smarter and more mature one. "It's a teeny tiny complication."

Bakura scoffed, "Tell that to her breasts."

"I thought you were gay?"

"Doesn't mean I don't know when big breasts are actually big, Malik. I have eyes." Bakura grabbed the controller in frustration and started maneuvering around the hallways to get away from the monster. After a few more hurdles, he threw the controller back to his "Your reflexes are pitiful, Marik. I know you're unphased with jumpscares, doesn't mean your reaction time needs to be compromised too."

"Why do you think Malik tops most of the time?" Marik snapped.

The person in the monitor shook his head and turned away from the camera. "Anyways…" Malik cleared his throat. "How about we go through Marik's route… Be manipulative." Bakura and Yami raised an eyebrow at his statement. "Yugi must be a great guy to care for his friends. But what if you, Yami, can mean more to him than his friends?"

Marik paused the game then run up to open the lights. His cousins winced at the sudden change in atmosphere. Marik plopped himself down between the two and put the laptop on his lap. "You said the magic word, babe. Tell us what's going on in that beautiful mind of yours."

"His friends are a complication. But what if he stops caring and just starts _tolerating_ them? Is the girl the only complication?" Malik rested his chin on his knuckles and smiled sweetly at the camera.

"Joey Wheeler, bad boy that hates Yami's uptight ass because he ratted him out for freeloading over a project," Marik scoffed.

The blonde hummed, "Irrelevant." He clapped his hands and returned a sickly sweet smile back at the camera that made Yami's and Bakura's skin crawl. "The guy can choose mature and level-headed Yami over some immature bad boy who's not fucking him." Malik scowled at the three faces looking at him. "Don't look at me like that. It makes sense. Would you choose a _friend_ who's a temperamental immature _child_ over a friend that gives you an orgasm every week?"

"So we manipulate Yugi into picking me? Isn't that reverse of what I want him to be?" Yami asked pursing his lips.

"No… You don't do anything. Don't change anything too much, but take it up a notch. Care for him the way you would if he was your boyfriend, but not too much to make him freak out. Make him question why he has to hide your relationship with him since he has shit friends… Unless he doesn't have shit friends…" Malik trailed off.

"He's got his own set of Avengers, they're amazing," Marik rolled his eyes.

"So they're overprotective friends. Even I hated Ishizu when she told me I can't date your cynical ass, but that didn't stop me." He turned his attention to the red-eyed teen. "I know 'manipulative' is such an evil word but it doesn't have to be. Just do your best not to freak him out. Try _making love_ to him and not just fucking, and he'll see fireworks every time you guys kiss. It'll be magical...and effective." The blonde waggled his eyebrows and smirked.

Bakura let out a laugh, " _Finally_! An explanation as to why _you_ like Marik. You're just as evil as he is!"

"That leaves the friends. Any more other complications he has that we should know about?"

"He has a grandfather right?" Bakura said, "Does that count?"

"Not exactly. But he could side with Yugi's friends since he knows them longer." Yami was an outsider. He was Yugi's secret. He narrowed his eyes and worried his lip in frustration.

"Well… It could be easier for you to have one of his family members vouch for you that's for sure." Malik explained.

Yami groaned. "But who? Yugi only has his grandfather."

* * *

"Hello, Mr. Mutou, I'm Mara Reed. It's a pleasure to finally meet you," the elderly woman reached her hand out to shake at the two males that entered the room.

"Hello, Ms. Reed. Please call me Solomon." The older male motioned for his grandson to enter the small office, "And this is my grandson, Yugi." The woman gave a soft hello as she greeted the teen.

"Please, call me Mara." She looked at the tall white-haired girl in the room, "This is my former charge, Kisara Van Bryce. She's been my charge for over fifteen years. She was taken here the day she was born actually."

The two males turned their attention the tall silvery-white haired girl with the piercing wide blue eyes. "Hello, sir," her voice was soft but even, like she was reining in gravity. After the awkward greetings, the four people sat down around the small table.

Solomon has been on edge since he received the phone call. He'd always known that social services was bound to question his custody of Yugi. But the teen was about to turn eighteen, if they were going to take him away, they're a few years too late.

"No, Solomon. We're not taking Yugi away from you. I can read your face like a billboard right now," Mara chuckled. "I just wanted to let you know of something… Something about your family that's very important that has been kept from you for too long."

Solomon's eyes narrowed. "My family?"

The younger woman cleared his throat. "Mr. Mutou, I'm Kisara Van Bryce. But I was born as Kisara Mutou," she finally said.

"What?!" the elder Mutou exclaimed. His eyes were wide and watery. "But.. Aiko… she said… she said the baby didn't survive." The words were whispered, he was too afraid that he might break down if he were to hear those words himself.

The blue-eyed female furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Didn't survive? She said that?

"Grandpa?" Yugi looked at his trembling grandfather. "Are you okay?'

"I'm fine, Yugi. I just…" he looked at the girl in front of him. "You… you have my son's eyes."

His son. Yuichi Mutou was famous in school for his tantalizing blue eyes that he inherited from his mother. The last time he's seen those eyes were full of hatred and anger before his son eventually left for America. The young woman in front of him had all the evidence of being a Mutou. She has the same pale skin, baby face, and big eyes as his grandson, Yugi. Granted, the tall stature came from his daughter-in-law but the silvery-white hair was a recessive gene on his side of the family. He didn't need some DNA test to tell him.

"Ms. Van Bryce," he started.

"Please, sir, call me Kisara."

"Kisara, are you trying to look for your parents? Because they've been divorced for almost four years now."

The girl sighed deeply. "I'm looking for answers, really. I… I've been under the foster care system here in Domino until I got adopted by my American parents. They took me to America and… well… I never really fit in with my life there. I guess I came here to maybe find my biological family and maybe figure out if I'd fit there."

"Will you be staying in Domino? Do you have a job? Are you in college? Do you have a place to stay?"

"I will be staying in Domino permanently. My adoptive parents are fine with it, besides, I have dual citizenship. I want to be here. This _is_ where I grew up. I own a few startup businesses that don't need me to be hands on too much so I can work anywhere. A job wouldn't be much of a problem. As for having a place to stay… well I'm looking for one right now. I'm currently staying at a hotel until I finally get a place of my own."

"Nonsense, my dear, you can stay with us," Solomon exclaimed. He could never turn down family.

The girl shook her head in worry, "Mr. Mutou, I -"

"Please, call me grandpa."

"Grandpa!" Yugi finally found his voice. The shock from the whole reveal finally sank in. He looked at the gir. "My grandpa's a bit delusional at the moment. No offense, but how can we know that you're saying is true? You could have fake documents for all we know. My grandpa has a soft spot for family. But we can't welcome strangers in our house." He said the last statement more to his grandfather rather than the young woman.

"I understand," Kira sighed. The old man was much of a shock to her. It was unexpected to see him welcome her open arms. At least she was finding somewhat of a common ground with the younger.

"No! Yugi, I know she's my granddaughter. I know!"

"Actually," Mara interjected with a calm voice that washed over the three other occupants of the room, "I'm the social worker assigned to Kisara. She was brought to us by a Ms. Esmeralda Ricci."

"That's Yugi's grandmother," Solomon gasped.

The teen blanched. He knew of his snobbish grandmother. The woman was Japanese by blood but was born in some part in Europe. He never really cared to know more about the old woman seeing as she has done the same towards him. The woman had no maternal bone in her body and never had a soft look on her face for him. Granda used to joke around saying that if she was there the day Yugi was born, she could have kidnapped Yugi just to separate his parents. But back then, that was just a joke. Never did the two Mutuo menn expect that that dragon lady was actually capable such an act.

"But Aiko said the baby didn't survive," Solomon said carefully.

"Well, she lied," Mara said evenly. "We actually have all signed documents by both parents here."

The elder Mutou looked at the documents laid out in front of him. And there it was, the signatures of his son and daughter-in-law. He was absolutely devastated when he arrived back from his trip in Egypt to the news that his very first grandchild had supposedly died three days after she was born. Granted, the couple weren't even married at that time, but Solomon insisted that they both keep the baby. He was against abortion and he would never give the child up for adoption. If she could be with family, then why let someone else take care of her? The old man went into depression at the news. Solomon pursed his lips in deep thought. Something didn't add up.

"Wait, Aiko and Yuichi got married and had Yugi three years after Kisara was born. Why didn't they take her in after?"

Mara sighed deeply and looked at her former charge. This particular part was quite difficult for the blue-eyed girl. The two males couldn't see it, because they weren't used to her yet, but her face was blank, rid of every emotion, her eyes a flat icey blue and her shoulders were straight. Too straight. She was fighting her emotions.

"I found out that they did end up together ten years after they got married," Mara started. "Imagine my surprise when I found out that not only did they tell me that they didn't want anything to do with my charge but they were already considering a divorce." She pursed her lips at the memory, "I wasn't too happy with the fact that they were going to make another child miserable because of their decisions." She looked over to Yugi with a gentle smile of apology.

Yugi remembered this. He was living with his parents at the old house back then. They fought about everything. And during one visit in his grandfather's shop, he told the old man everything and grandpa had fought for Yugi's custody until the couple settled their problems, hence the first divorce. His parents fought tooth and nail for Yugi's custody but the judge ruled in favor for Solomon. Neither he nor his grandfather knew why but the two backed off the custody rights so suddenly.

"I should let you know, Solomon, social services never questioned your guardianship over Yugi thanks to Kisara." Mara said.

"What do you mean?" He eyed the still silent blue-eyed girl. He wanted to reach across the table and comfort her. She looked so lost, so broken, despite the blank expression on her face. She was keeping so many emotions in, she looked about to break.

"I told your son and your daughter-in-law that if either of them won the custody battle over your grandson, then I would come to you with Kisara."

Solomon understood. The couple didn't want him to discover that they had lied about the girl. "But why did you-"

"I know irresponsible parents when I see them, Solomon." Mara's voice was hard. She remembered the couple perfectly, the look of horror in their faces when she simply asked them if they wanted to see the thirteen-year old Kisara. "I knew Yugi would be miserable if he stayed with either of them. He deserves stability."

"And what about her?" Solomon pointed to his granddaughter, his voice breaking. "Doesn't she deserve stability?"

"Well, I-"

"I was a troubled child, sir." Kisara interjected, finally regaining her voice. "I was in and out of foster homes due to my 'incapability to adapt' as my appointed psychiatrist has pointed out."

Solomon blinked then looked at Mara for answers to his silent question. What did his granddaughter go through?

As if hearing his question, she spoke again.

"I was quite the troublemaker growing up. I was actually sent to juvy once for it." She chuckled darkly at the shocked faces of the two males. "I don't think social services will allow you to take care of me when you're already taking care of another minor alone."

"Ahh…" Solomon nodded then looked at his grandson, then at his granddaughter. They didn't deserve all of this grief and misery that was caused by their parents. "But why reach out now? Why not back then?"

"I guess, it would be easier to come to you now that I'm an adult. So you wouldn't think I'm reaching out to you now for monetary reasons. I just really wanted to know about you, nothing more."

"And I told Kisara that if she still wanted to know about her family, she would reach out to me," Mara added.

Solomon understood then looked at his grandchildren again. He wasn't sure if he was going to be mad, sad, or relieved with everything that was revealed to him today.

"Solomon, there are some specifics and paperwork I need to discuss with you." Mara cleared her throat. She looked at her former charge, "Kisara, why don't you and Yugi get to know each other over at the children's waiting area? We may have had a lot of renovations done in this place since you left, but the room is still where you remember it."

Her former charge eyed her carefully with a raised eyebrow then shrugged. She turned at the amethyst-eyed boy and smiled, "Shall we?"

Yugi nodded and followed the white-haired girl that was supposedly his long lost sister.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it! Chapter 2 for Are We Really Doing This. So yeah, Yugi has a long lost sister with some baggage...don't we all? Also, I'm not happy with the lemon I wrote here. So what do you guys think? I hope you like it. Please review and tell me what you think and what you guys expect with the next chapters or what you guys want to see with the next chapters.


	3. Dirty Little Secrets

Kisara moved in with Yugi and his grandfather on a Sunday. Mara had insisted on putting the three of them on family therapy but Kisara had declined saying that she has put family members on too much therapy sessions already that she's already sick of it. She wanted to be normal for once. Yugi hasn't told anyone of Kisara's existence mostly to avoid the whole parents' divorce issue to float up the surface again. Thankfully, Kisara wasn't much of a big presence in the house when Yugi's friends were around. She was usually out looking for an office space.

But now, Yugi had a problem. With Kisara staying with them, how in the hell could he and Yami have their Friday night fun? Yami's place was obviously out of the question. With Bakura and Marik knowing about them, and him knowing what to them is considered funny, he won't be able to concentrate when the risk of the two walking in on them was present. It was easy with his friends who visit semi-regularly at the shop. Grandpa hasn't said anything about Kisara as well saying that he also needed time to adjust. They both knew how obsessive Yugi's friends could be about someone new in the , they knew that the old bedroom where Yugi's parents used to sleep was off limits. Their way of respecting the family to keep out of their personal troubles when they were in the Mutou residence.

Kisara was usually out of the house and no one asks about who she was. If she wasn't looking for an office space, she was working at a cafe talking to her employees who were at America, or at the public library doing research on her new business venture. Kisara creates startup companies, mostly surrounding the field of computers. Creates new technology, build a small company around said technology. Currently, she was holding five, and she's looking into her sixth one. This meant more work, and most of her time spent outside.

But not long enough for Yugi to have Yami over.

During the first few weekdays Kisara was entered their lives, she always comes home on time for dinner. The three would have a comfortable discussion and she would clean up and all three would be in their respective bedrooms for sleep. Now it was Thursday night and Yugi had to get rid of his sister. He wanted to spend time with Yami. Granted, the way they spent their time wasn't ideal but it works for both of them. Yugi wasn't exactly the flowey romance type and his friends weren't exactly the liking-Yami type. Not to mention, Tea wouldn't be the liking-Yugi type should she figure out that they were sleeping together.

He was overthinking again. He stared at his digital alarm clock which read 12:05am. He had to be up in seven hours and his brain was too wide awake. He needed to crash and food was his best solution. He needed to eat to make him sleepy. After kicking his comforter off of him, he swung his legs on the side of his bed and left to get a quick midnight snack. He furrowed his brows when he saw light coming from the dining room.

"Do you ever sleep?" Yugi asked as he spotted his sister on the dining room working on her laptop while drinking a glass of bourbon. There was a plate of the half-eaten chocolate cake next to her glass. Kisara was wearing a black silk robe, wire-framed glasses, and her hair was up on messy bun.

Kisara looked up from her laptop and cocked her head at the side. "I can survive in three hours of sleep which I get around the morning time. How about you?"

Yugi walked up to the fridge to grab a piece of cake and a glass of milk, "I was hungry. And I've got a wicked sweet tooth."

Kisara chuckled, "Thank you for telling me. I almost ate the whole thing a while ago." Her brother sat across from her and took a small bite of cake. "I've got a wicked sweet tooth too. It's difficult when your parents are health conscious musicians." She studied her brother for a second then turned back to her laptop, "Is something bothering you?"

His brother blinked. "W-Why do you ask that?" He rolled his eyes at his stupid stutter. He sounded guilty. He was. It was the blue eyes that studied him. He felt like he was under interrogation and the person in front of him was the good cop who can manipulate him and gain his trust then use it against him in court. He made a mental note to research about his sister on the weekend when he got the time.

With a smirk, she shook her head and sighed. "Something you could've discovered about me if we went to family therapy is that I'm overly observant. That's why I'm great in solving puzzles." She downed her glass of bourbon and poured herself another glass. "You and grandpa sleep like a log. I accidentally played loud music and yet neither of you went out to check. Either you heard but didn't care or you didn't. Both means you guys were in very deep sleep." When Yugi didn't speak, Kisara closed her laptop. "Sorry… I didn't mean to be inappropriate."

"Yeah. It's fine. It's not the first time I've been under probing," Yugi muttered, looking away. "At least you were honest enough to warn me of it and know when to back off."

"Overprotective girlfriend, I presume?" At the statement, Yugi snapped his head in Kisara's direction. "What? I struck a nerve? I'm sorry." The girl bit her lip and bowed her head, trying to avoid the other's gaze.

Yugi wasn't glaring. He was more confused and a little bit freaked out than angry. "I don't have a girlfriend. Why would you assume…?"

"You have an almost fading bruise on your neck. You're wearing a neck belt but I can see a part of it near the juncture of your neck and shoulder," she cast her eyes down on the little mark on Yugi's neck. "I know what hickeys look like when they're about to fade. So, not girlfriend? Is it a boyfriend then? You know I'm cool with that. My adoptive parents are both guys."

"I'm not dating anyone!" Yugi interjected, eyes wide. He could feel himself blushing furiously. Joey, Tea, and Tristan have known Yugi for _years_ and _they_ couldn't tell that he was having sex with someone. Kisara has been in his life for a _few days_ and she already called him out on it under the dim light of the dining room.

"I'll stop the inquisition. I can tell it's your secret. You don't have to tell me." She downed her glass of bourbon and started to clean up. "Is it a boy or a girl?" she asked with a smirk which made the younger Mutou groan. Kisara chuckled, "I'm sorry. I'll stop. But if it's a boy, I won't judge. I'm bisexual."

Yugi blinked at his sister for nth time tonight. "You're…" He closed his eyes and sighed deeply. "Boy," he said simply.

"Huh…" Kira nodded and turned to the sink. "I wash, you dry?"

"That's it?" Yugi cleaned his plate and downed his milk then walked up to the sink to help Kira wash the dishes. "You're not going to give me a lecture on safe sex or ask me more about what's bothering me?"

His sister shrugged. "Hey, for all I know, you might just want a midnight snack." She took the dirty dishes and ran the water. "I didn't come here to invade your personal space by choice."

The younger Mutou pursed his lips in annoyance. The white-haired girl didn't even look like she was dying to know what was in his mind, but the reassuring smile told him that she was there for a real sibling would. "Were you...like this with your foster siblings?"

"Only to those I like," she winked. "Most of my foster siblings were too nice and too annoying. You know what nice means in a foster home? Tattletales and uptight assholes who will rat you out for smoking in the garden shed. I'm only nice to the cool ones who would smoke and do drugs with me."

Yugi's eyebrows shot up in shock and disbelief at what he just heard. "You…"

Kisara let out a twinkling laugh. "You should seriously see your face." She pressed her lips with a silly smirk trying to repress her laughter. "I told you, I was a troubled kid. Typical case of teenage rebellion. I also have a big dragon tattoo on my back to certify that." She looked over her brother then added, "Casual sex is part of my path to self destruction too." She winked playfully before rinsing the dishes.

Does that mean she knows he's having casual sex? He only said he was with a guy, but...was still vague on the status. This girl seriously had Yugi on edge. He hadn't said anything to her. They barely talked except for the casual conversations they had when they were in the same room together. And yet, here she was, making comments that made him think that maybe she was reading his mind, or that he was just that readable that maybe _everyone_ knew _everything_ about him. And that was something he couldn't handle. One thing he learned in high school was that in order to survive, you don't give ammo to those who can hurt you. The younger Mutou took a dishcloth and started to dry the newly washed dishes. "What? You took psychology as your course in Harvard?" That would be the only possibility Kisara could read him so well. They always say that psychologists can read people's minds through body language and such.

"Close. Aerospace Engineering in MIT," she smirked victoriously. "I had a lot of therapy sessions with my sea of appointed psychiatrists. I picked up a lot from my many sessions with them. It's nice to use their own weapons against them."

After cleaning up, Kisara picked up her stuff and invited Yugi to go back to bed. As they reached the top of the stairs Kisara turned around, "Oh! I forgot to mention, don't wait up for me tonight. I'm driving grandpa to Tokyo. I'm picking up the new car I bought later in the afternoon. So… I might be coming home Saturday morning since I'll be going out to check out Domino's nightlife. Get free drinks, pick up chicks, finger them in the club bathroom…" Kisara let out another laugh. She held her sides trying to relieve the pain in her belly from laughing so hard. "I'm kidding, Yugi. But I _am_ gonna go out for a few drinks with some friends."

"You have friends here in Domino?" This was new. From what Mara had told them, Kisara was from America. How could she have friends here in Domino after such a short time. He knew Kisara had stayed in Domino for almost two weeks before she sought them out.

"Just some people I met from the foster home. Most of them are working now and some are in college." Ahh… The orphanage.

"Uhh… Sure, Kisara." Yugi smiled. Okay, one problem down. It takes a two-hour train ride to Tokyo from Domino, so it could take double or triple that time by car, plus her drive back, plus whatever she plans on doing on Saturday. Yugi had time to spare with Yami. He wasn't going to risk a repeat of what happened last week.

"Oh! Yugi, stay there for a sec. I'm gonna give you something." She ran into her room then after a few seconds she emerged from the door holding a small packet. "Here you go," she handed the small packet yo Yugi.

Looking at the small cardboard packet, Yugi opened it and saw two sachets and a small spray bottle. "What's this?"

"I got it from the hotel I stayed at. I kinda told them I was having trouble sleeping since they always see me at the bar every night. They gave me those every night. It's kinda like aroma therapy to get you to sleep."

"Do they work?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't tried."

_Huh. Kisara doesn't sleep at night? Weird…_

Yugi smiled at the blue-eyed girl. "Thanks for this, Kisara." He opened his bedroom door and stepped one foot inside.

"No problem, Yugi. Tell me if it works, I have like several more in my bag that you can have… I think I can get bottles of them at the hotel spa and give it as a gift for grandpa's birthday."

Yugi chuckled, "Goodnight...sis." He gave her a sweet smile.

Kisara froze for a moment before returning the smile, "Goodnight, brother dear."

* * *

"Okay, guys, I already gave you your partners during our first day, and now that I've given you the parameters for the project, I'll be giving the rubric and the list of systems you guys can create." Mr. Riviera was a young man who was fresh out of college and was now teaching their computer class. He was a tall lanky man with inky black hair, pale skin, dark brown eyes and for some odd reason, he always has a 5 o'clock shadow on his face. His button up shirts were always one size too big and, despite the subject he teaches, he doesn't wear any glasses.

Computer class was the only class Yami got to sit right next to Yugi. Their seating arrangement was due to their teacher's fascination with them. And also, Mr. Riviera preferred to assign class partners and he makes the seat plan accordingly. The two tricolor-haired teens only had casual conversations during class, doing their best to ignore the obvious sexual tension they had with each other. One of them would occasionally ask about the lesson since the teacher tends to talk fast or drift away from the lecture altogether to tell some funny anecdote. There were innocent touches here and there when they would hover over the other's work to check if the activity was done right, and Yami was enjoying every moment of it a bit too much.

"Hello, boys," Mr. Riviera approached the two look-alikes with a smile. Mr. Riviera, even at the age of thirty-two, had that innocent boyish charm to him. He was also a big nerd. "Here's a copy of your rubric and now," he showed his clipboard, "You guys get to pick on this list what type of website you guys want to make." There were twenty-one projects listed and the top three easiest ones were already picked. The two boys sighed and decided they would pick the one that was at least interesting to make.

"We'll take the teaching assistance system, Riviera-sensei," Yami said looking at Yugi, asking with his eyes if his choice was okay.

Yugi nodded once and gave the okay signal to their teacher.

"Can we start this next week? We can meet at your place." Yugi asked, his eyes still at his monitor.

"Don't you help your grandpa at the shop on weekdays?" Yami furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. This project could be his best chance in introducing himself to Yugi's family, to Yugi's world.

_I'm still your secret._

"We can go to my place on Friday. It's just that, my laptop is acting up. I have someone looking into it to know of we can just have it repaired or if I need to buy a new one." It was technically true that his laptop was busted. But he had his sister look into it, seeing as she was a computer genius. The real reason he didn't want Yami anywhere near his place is so he could hide Kisara for a little while longer.

Or maybe it was so he could hide _Yami_ for a little while longer. It's true that should Yami be introduced to his grandfather and sister, they didn't need to make an excuse whenever the crimson-eyed boy would be there. But there was the Kisara factor. The girl could see right through Yugi in an instant and it freaked him out. One look at him with Yami and Kisara _will_ know in an instant that they were sleeping together. He had no idea what the girl would do with that kind of information, but he didn't trust her enough to know if she was going to slip that little detail of his life.

A gentle shake on his shoulder woke Yugi from his deep thoughts. "Hey," Yami whispered softly. "You still there?" Yugi had been looking at either the monitor, the rubric, or the requirements sheet, but Yami could see that something else was bothering him. The boy beside him blinked before giving a small smile and nodded. "So… How do we do this?" he asked carefully. He could ask what was wrong, was there something bothering him, was he okay, why didn't he want him at his place, and a million other questions. But as Malik had said, don't freak him out.

"Do what?" Yugi cocked his head at the side in confusion. Did Yami ask him a question earlier? When he was met with a weird furrowed expression from Yami, he apologized softly and a nice pink blush painted his cheeks.

Yami had seen Yugi blush dozens of times, the boy was absolutely sexy when he blushes. But seeing him here in the computer lab blushing because he was embarrassed and caught not paying attention was absolutely adorable. He chuckled and winked at the boy, "The project, Yugi. How are we going to do it?" Baby steps. Baby steps.

The thing with Mr. Riviera was that he expects that his students would remember all those programming classes they were taught during their previous years. All he did was review how to write the program and a few tips and tricks before assigning the project and saying that everything they needed was available on the internet. He teaches simple concepts and tells his students and exams were all practical. Everyone loved him for it, especially when everyone got to cheat during the exam, most of the time. Each project had requirements that need to be met and some requirements that are for "Bonus Points". The highest score one could get was 150 out of a hundred points. Mr. Riviera was nice enough to let his students milk a whole lot of extra points of grade from the project as possible, seeing as his exams were borderline torture.

Yugi furrowed his eyebrows at the seemingly simple requirements. Must be able to create an account. Must be able to save grades. Must be able to compute grades. Must be able to access grades for future use. Must be able to create class list. Yugi was already having a migraine just thinking about it. And they have to make a website for it?

"They look fairly simple… Riviera-sensei is merciful enough and he's taught us most of these so we'll be fine," Yugi muttered chewing his cheek. "We need to start with the basics like how this website will look and… Where do you want to start?" He looked up and gasped when his amethyst eyes connected with Yami's intense and fiery ruby ones. There was curiosity, intrigue, and a dozen more emotions written in those eyes that Yugi craved to read. Yami was so enigmatic, a puzzle he was itching to solve. His exotic red eyes were the first thing that pulled Yugi towards the taller teen's general direction. Whenever he would look directly at them, he was being transported back to that first night they were together. They were on the couch and Yugi could feel Yami's intense gaze on him. It would always take his breath away at how he was easily pulled towards him. Yugi felt his throat dry and he tried to swallow his saliva to dampen them. He cleared his throat to try and let out a coherent sentence to break them from each other's trance. "Uhh…"

Perfect.

Yami blinked rapidly then looked away. He cleared his throat a couple of times and looked around to check if anyone saw how dumbfounded the both of them were just a few seconds ago. Everyone was too busy looking on their monitors to care. They were probably looking into some downloadable projects right now. His eyes glanced back to Yugi who was shaking his head as if he just got flashed a really bright lamp in his face. Yami kept his distance and tapped Yugi's shoulder with his finger. He smiled softly and kept his eyes on Yugi's cute nose to at least try and control himself. "Umm, we can work on planning what each webpage would look like and work our way from there. Wanna do it tonight?" He saw Yugi blush at the double meaning of his question. His eyes twinkled with amusement and let out a dark chuckle. Time to practice some vocal teasing he'd learned from experience. "We can do it in your place like we planned," his eyes were glazed over with lust as he looked at Yugi's neck. The choker around the swan-like neck was hiding the healing bruises Yami left there. He smirked. Those need a touch up tonight. He lowered his voice so only Yugi could hear, "We work fast together. Or we can do it slow and steady." He looked up and saw Yugi blushing. He winked at the boy and spoke again, "You know, just to make sure we cover all the bases."

Keeping his distance, Yami leaned back from his seat and crossed his legs. Yugi was blushing like a tomato and the taller teen was enjoying it. He looked at the other people in the room then turned back to the monitor to try and search online for some the bonus points they could score. Meanwhile, Yugi was basically hyperventilating from Yami's sultry words. His head was swimming. He rolled his eyes and shook his head again and pinch the boy beside him in annoyance.

Yami jumped and snapped his head at Yugi's smirking face.

"Sure. We can do it in my house tonight after school," Yugi replied nonchalantly. Were they actually flirting with each other? Yugi sighed his laughter out. This was actually fun. They skipped the whole flirting stage of their relationship… _Relationship?_ Was that what they had together? A _relationship_? Red flags were ringing in his ears right now but he ignored them and started marking the requirements list for how long they could finish it.

Once class as done, Yugi, with Yami beside him, stepped out of the computer lab to see Tea waiting up for him. She gave a quick "Hey" before turning her full attention on his lab partner. "Hey, Yami!" she greeted sweetly. Yugi sighed quietly and stepped aside to watch his oldest best friend hound over his… fuck buddy? He winced at that. He looked over the red-eyed teen with wonder and longing. He was surprised that Yami was looking at him from the corner of his eye. Was Yami just a fuck buddy to him? That sounded sick and wrong. Friend with benefits sounded better. Less vulgar and it felt like they weren't using each other for sex and nothing more… though that did sound like them.

"So, Yami, do you have any plans tonight? It's a Friday, you must be going out or something," Tea's eyes twinkled as she tried to coax information from him. Maybe try and convince her other friends to go wherever Yami was going tonight. Make it look like it was fate that brought them together.

"I'm staying at home tonight. I need to do research on our project," Yami motioned to Yugi.

Tea looked like a kid on Christmas morning, "You're paired up with Yugi for a project? You guys don't mind if I tag along with your little study dates?"

"No thank you," Yami pressed. He did _not_ need Tea there.

"I can help. And I might need help from you, Yami. You're smartest person I know. I mean, you're the only A grade student I know."

Both boys were taken aback by this, especially Yugi who was a little furious. Sure, Tea was willing to say anything to get what she wants. That's how she won her presidency in the student council, that's how she gets Yugi to do her bidding, and apparently, that's how she's going to get Yami to be with her. But it felt like an insult to Yugi to be dismissed like that. It felt egotistic of him to be insulted that his own best friend didn't consider him to be smart. He rolled his eyes and started walking to the cafeteria and left Yami along to deal with Tea.

Crimson-eyes went wide with worry as he saw Yugi's back walking away. Yami needed to shake Tea off and maybe try and check if Yugi was fine. He knew the other boy was insulted by what Tea said. He didn't need Yugi to be mad at him for Tea's shallowness.

He cleared his throat and looked at the brunette who was seriously getting on his nerves. "No, Tea. We're not friends, we don't hang out, and we've never had a class together ever since I moved here. If you want help with your studies, go ask Yugi. If you're so concerned with grades then you should know that he's an A grade student too." At the corner of his eye, he saw the familiar spiky white hair of his cousin and made a run towards that direction before Tea could respond.

"Sheesh, Yami! Is there an axe murderer on your tail?" Bakura narrowed his eyes. His cousin had used him as a brake from his sprint.

"Tea," he replied as gasped for breath. He looked over his shoulder and was thankful that she was walking away.

Bakura chuckled. "Worse than an axe murderer then. Come on, I'm hungry and Mana told me she has something deep fried in her lunch bag."

"You're not waiting for Marik?"

Bakura snorted, "Marik's in the bathroom, he escaped the last ten minutes of class in there."

"Why is he escaping advance chemistry? He loves this class. It's the only class he gets an A+ in "

"He got an amazing international plan for his phone and is trying it out. He's been texting Malik since he woke up. I think it's 5 or 6 in the morning right now in Egypt. I'm pretty sure they're sending nude pics right now."

Yami winced. He did not need to know that. Now he has a mental image of Marik trying to take a picture of his… He internally gagged at his train of thought. He heard a snicker beside him and he elbowed his cousin. "You ass!" Once they were seated, Yami stared at Yugi doing his best to maybe apologize to the smaller teen who was five to six tables away. The smaller teen could feel his eyes on him so he caved and looked at Yami. The smile reassured Yami that they were okay so he nodded curtly. The little exchange went unnoticed by a certain blue-eyed brunette who waved sweetly and winked at him.

He felt himself curl up inwardly so he looked away but not before noticing the scowl on Yugi's face. This made Yami's heart sink a little. It was obvious that Yugi still has feelings for Tea if he was so annoyed that the girl preferred Yami over him. Again, the thought of girl's preference was a weird puzzle to Yami. He tried to weigh in what he had that Yugi didn't that would make Tea want him instead of her oldest best friend. Was it purely on looks? He had some distinct differences from Yugi appearance-wise and that was all Tea was basing her crush on. She doesn't even know what Yami was really like.

He, like Yugi, also had secrets and baggage she had no idea about.

* * *

Yami was putting on his pants in Yugi's room. He looked around his partner's bedroom and tried to look at it for the first time. Yugi was simple yet enigmatic. His room was just like him. His bed had simple baby blue cotton sheets, yet he could feel a lump under the bed when they would lie there. Yami hadn't checked, but he suspected that it could be a diary. People usually hide their diaries there. His desk was a simple wooden one with pictures of him and his friends on the corkboard, then there was a picture frame on the corner facing down. Yami hadn't tried to take a peek. His closet was always left open and Yami could see a small wooden chest on top of some of the shoeboxes. Yugi had a lot of toys and puzzles on his shelves, his deck box was there too and Yami had still yet to ask Yugi about it. He respected Yugi's privacy. He respected the lines and boundaries the other boy had drawn to keep them separated.

And those lines were starting to irritate Yami. Malik had been telling him to power through the frustrations and take it easy. But he was growing attached and he needed to do something to not make Yugi freak out on him. Once he was fully clothed, he grabbed his backpack and silently left the room. He could hear Yugi moving around in the kitchen making breakfast. He knew this part of the day. It was early Saturday morning, and he had to leave. This was how he left every time. When he knew Yugi wasn't looking, he walked fast towards the door leading to the stairs going to the first floor and out of the Mutou residence. When Yami opened the door a pair of bright blue eyes met him.

"Oh! Uh… Hello…?" the girl said. She eyed Yami for a second then closed the door, closing the only exit. "Leaving so soon? You'll miss breakfast." She smiled sweetly at the teen.

Yami looked over at the tall girl. She had pale skin, long silvery-white hair, and was wearing a black dress. The teen tried to remember if Yugi had any other relatives aside from his grandfather and came with nothing. He knew that Yugi's parents were divorced and this girl was too young to even be Yugi's mother. A cousin maybe?

"Kisara," Yugi said nervously. "You're home early…" His mind was in overdrive. He needed Yami out of the house at the right time so as not to offend either one of them.

His sister raised an eyebrow at him and then looked over the teen she had blocked his path to freedom from the awkwardness. "It's five in the morning. I'm late. But I bought bagels and spreads," she smiled and shook the paper bag in her hand. Her eyes drifted back to the other teen, "Hi! I'm Kisara. Yugi's long lost sister. And you are…" She offered her hand.

Yami raised his trembling hand to shake Kisara's, "Yami Sennen. I'm Yugi's friend."

Kisara bit her lip as she shifted her eyes quickly to connect with Yugi's before turning back to her brother's look alike. "Hello, Yami Sennen, Yugi's friend. Nice to meet you. Come have breakfast with us and I shall not take 'no' for an answer." She shifted her hand and held onto Yami's wrist and pulled the teen towards the dining room. "Come. Sit. Eat," she commanded softly then went to Yugi and kissed the top of his head. "I'm okay and I slept in a hotel near the bar so I won't get attacked. And I got home sober and safe. Thanks for asking," she sneered playfully before stuffing bagels in the toaster.

Yami watched the silvery white-haired girl. She was wearing heels when Yami first saw her. And she looked like she could be as tall as Seto wearing them, could even be the same age as him. She was still wearing her black dress from last night. Any signs of make-up was already gone except for a slight gloss on her lips. She looked like she took advantage of her short stay at a hotel to take a shower.

Yugi sighed and turned to Yami who looked like he was still in a state of awe and shock. He tapped the taller teen's nose and pleaded with his eyes to keep this a secret. Of course, Yami understood so he nodded. Yugi didn't exactly have a choice so he sat down next to Yami to try and shield the other teen away from the probing Kisara was capable of. "So, Kisara, how was your night?" he asked.

Kisara giggled loudly then sat on the kitchen counter. "Boring. I'm more interested in _your_ night." She winked at the two boys and only one of them had obvious evidence of blushing. She giggled again. "But I'm pretty sure it was boring too since you guys stayed the night and I see papers on the coffee table," she supplied.

Yugi stared at his sister in disbelief. What was her deal? She didn't even bother to hide the amusement in her eyes. Yugi sighed and answered her. "Yami slept over so we could work on our project for computer class."

Kisara's eyes lit up, "Computer class? Is that why you needed to me to look at your laptop, Yugi?"

Yugi nodded. "Yeah, so-"

"So, Yami. What's my brother like?" Kisara jumped to a new topic. She rested her chin on her entwined fingers and gave a seemingly innocent smile at her brother's darker counterpart.

Yugi glared at her, "I thought you weren't a morning person?"

"I'm still on American time. It's 3PM right now at New York," she replied casually. "So, Yami. Ignore my brother. I can ask him what he's like but he'll filter out the embarrassing ones." Her smile had a flicker of malice and she wasn't even ashamed of it.

"Uhh…" was Yami's coherent reply. When he felt a hand pinch his thigh he jumped slightly then cleared his throat. "Yugi and I are partners, we-"

"Partners?" Kira cocked her eyebrow, her smile reining in a laugh.

"We're assigned partners for a project," Yami explained. He felt like he was being questioned in court. If his cousins' inquisition was bad, this girl was triple that. He felt bad for this girl's boyfriend.

"Uh-huh. That's not the answer to my question though." She turned around to grab the bagels and served them. She took out multiple jars of spreads before sitting back down on her chair. She took a bagel and the cream cheese spread before turning back to the teens. "Go grab a bagel and pick whatever spread you want."

The two hesitantly grabbed their breakfast. Yami felt blue eyes watching him and waiting for him to answer. What was he going to say? It suddenly dawned on him that he doesn't really know Yugi on the friend level. He could map out Yugi's pleasure points with a blindfold, but he couldn't say anything beyond what he had heard through the grapevine about Yugi's personality towards his friends.

"Yugi's nice and a bit quiet in class. We don't hang out that much since his best friend hates me," he said simply. He looked over the other teen and was given a reassuring smile which made him sigh out the breath he didn't know he was holding. He needed the focus off of him. "So, Kisara, how come I haven't heard of you before?" He felt the boy next to him freeze in his place. _Great. Because of course this was a touchy subject for him._ Yami tried to go back to what Malik had told him.

" _Walking on thin ice can be fun. Just don't feel too cocky. You might crack the ice and fall to your doom."_

But Kisara didn't look like she was phased by the question. "Long story. Short version would be because he found out just last Friday and I've been here for a week now. As for the gory details I'd rather Yugi tell you that. Next question. Is Yugi _dating_ anyone?"

"Kisara!" Yugi screeched with a raging blush on his face.

"What?" she asked with a laugh. "Perfectly innocent and _valid_ question." She studied her brother's glare then gave in. "Fine. I'll ask you about that when I sneak maybe half a dozen of tequila shots in your soda." She winked playfully then turned her attention back to Yami. "So, Yami, I'm running out of inappropriate questions to ask so I could see you and my baby brother squirm in the awkward setting I've forced the both of you in. So… Project. Computer class. Hit me!" She leaned back and took a big bite of her bagel before getting a glass of orange juice. When she came back to her seat, she pulled out her laptop and set it on the table. "Come on, kiddies. Tell me about your project. Let's bond over your misery." She motioned for Yugi to get his rubric which, to her annoyance, was just on the coffee table at the living room. Not enough time to get information out of Yami

Kisara read over their requirements. She called them over to her side of the table to show them what the codes for their bonus points looked like. She showed them examples of her prototype websites from her different startup companies. Both teens were suddenly excited with the way the white-haired girl showed how "easy" it was to do the project. Kisara offered to help and teach them how to do the different requirements and asked them to make a work plan. She showed the two teens what her work plan for making new websites look like and the two were impressed with how organized she was.

Yami studied the two siblings closely. Bakura and his younger sister, Irina, and Seto and Mokuba are the only siblings he'd seen up close. Bakura has sworn his life in protecting his sister and Seto and Mokuba have a bond that was created during their short time in the orphanage when their parents died. Kisara and Yugi, on the other hand, have this odd relationship. Yugi looked on edge, which meant that he was walking on eggshells around his sister. If they were really siblings, Yugi should be more relaxed than he was now. Then again, it might just be because of Yami's presence in the room, or the fact that Yugi has known Kisara for only a short while. The white-haired girl did say that she was the "long lost" sister. She certainly acted the part of an older sister to Yugi with the way she would tease and taunt the younger Mutou lightly. Yugi would smile at her and laugh it off then come back with a wittier insult which Kisara would raise an eyebrow for before laughing. And the cycle continues.

Whatever backstory the two had, it must cut really deep for them to bond so quickly which made Yami jealous. He'd been with Yugi longer than the girl and yet the amethyst-eyed teen was already sharing a special bond with her. All he had over her was the fact that Yugi slept with him every Friday night.

This little tidbit of thought made Yami wince. He had to change that soon.

It was seven in the morning when Kisara decided to leave the two teens alone and let Yami go home. As Yami was about to leave, Yugi grabbed him and whispered just in case Kisara was eavesdropping on them.

"Please don't tell anyone about her," he pleaded. "We're still adjusting to the whole thing."

Yugi's eyes looked defeated and Yami had no choice but to nod. It wasn't his business and in his best interest to meddle with Yugi's family drama. He gave a soft smile and squeezed Yugi's shoulder. "I won't tell anyone. But if you feel the need to vent about it, you can tell me." He gave a reassuring smile to the smaller teen. "You can vent out without having to tell another person about her."

Yugi was taken aback by this. He smiled and let Yami out before facing his sister again.

"You have no shame do you?" He asked as he put his hands on his hips.

Kisara just shrugged, "It's not my fault I caught you guys. Be thankful I didn't catch you in the act. Now _that_ would've been interesting." She has already changed in a pair of red plaid boxers and a rock band shirt. Her hair was kept in a high ponytail. She walked over to the recliner and curled up with her laptop. "I'm not ratting you out on grandpa if that's what you're thinking," she said as she pulled out the footrest and took out her glasses.

"You're not?" Yugi asked. He took his seat on the couch adjacent to the recliner and stared at the white-haired girl.

"It's your secret, not mine. I just walked in on you guys. But I do have one condition though," she said. She tore her gaze away from her laptop to look at her brother.

Yugi scowled. Of course there was a condition. There always is one. "Depends on the condition."

"It's a simple one that I'm pretty sure you can keep," she said with a warm reassuring smile. "Whenever you go out behind grandpa's back, you tell me where you're going and who you're with. Just send me one text so I'll know. If you guys decide to change locations, no matter what time of the day, you tell me. It's just one simple text. You can do that right?"

The younger Mutou was surprised. He was thinking that maybe Kisara would ask him for favors or something. Not this. "So your condition is for me to agree to you keeping me on a leash?" He asked a little too harshly which made the other sibling wince.

"You misunderstand. I'm not going to follow you. But I also want you to be safe. At least you have one family member that knows where you are." Her eyes were soft and apologetic.

Yugi chewed his cheek. He was really just being an ass. She had a point. He sighed deeply then softened his features. "You're right. It's just that...grandpa always had a loose leash for me. Mostly because of my parents...our parents. It's like he's blaming himself for the misery they've put me through and as his form of penance, he's letting me do almost anything I want."

Kira nodded in understanding. "Parents will always blame themselves for the mistakes of their children. They assume it was their lack of proper parenting that's why their children make stupid mistakes….like getting pregnant before marriage and getting divorced twice."

Yugi scoffed with a smirk on his face. "Actually, dad got divorced three times now. Last I heard he's getting married in the summer. And as for mom, she already has four divorces on her belt. It makes me think they're just trying to compete on which of them dies with the most divorces. It would be the best ironic moment that in the end, they marry their divorce lawyers." Thankfully, his parents had decided not to include him in the weddings.

Kisara whistled, "Wow… And I thought _I_ had commitment issues."

"Must be a hereditary trait," Yugi muttered.

Kisara let out a laugh. "I'm pretty sure it is. How sad is that?"

Yugi was setting up his gaming console so he could just play his frustrations away with videogames. "Very sad. You wanna play?" He offered the other wireless controller.

"After lunch. I have to finish up some contracts for my trip to America which will be in a month or two. My lawyer is already pestering me for them so he could look it up."

"You're going to America?" Suddenly, Yugi was nervous. Was Kira going to leave them? She said that she would stay here in Domino permanently. Was she lying?

"Just for a week. Tighten some loose ends. I did just pack up and leave to go here, you know. I only told my parents so there are people who are still freaking out about my departure."

"Sounds like you'll be needing more than a week to do that." Definitely more than a week. Especially if she left a broken heart there, that _will_ take longer than a week. The longer she stays in America, the more likely she'll not want to come back to Domino. And this made Yugi nervous. Kira just came into their lives, and now she will most probably leave them.

"That's why I'm finishing up all the paperwork here, less time I have to spend there. I left my life there to start a life here. I _want_ to be here. And a lot of people weren't happy with my decision. Thank goodness my dads were very supportive of me."

"Weren't they heartbroken that the child they adopted preferred to leave them?"

"They adopted me so they could take me out of the system where no one but Ms. Mara cared."

"Was it that bad?"

Kira looked at her monitor for a moment before answering, "No one wants a problematic kid in their perfect family. My dads were the only one who saw me as a child and not a problem that needed to be solved." She kept her eyes on the monitor and her face even.

Yugi caught on but let it go. Kira had never mentioned the biggest taboo in his life which was the topic about his - their parents. He wasn't even mad that Kisara inexplicably overstepped her boundaries with regards to his business with Yami. It didn't bother him at the slightest. He was more relieved than bothered. In reality, Yami's offer to vent was also another relief for him. He needed someone to talk to and he couldn't talk to his friends about Yami, so Kisara was a god sent. He didn't want to explain the gory details about Kisara to his friends too since that would mean talking about his parents which was a hard limit for him. Yami knows this, so talking about Kisara to him would also be easy. Anymore problems he needed bottled up inside him will cause him combust and that will become messy.

He played his game while he stole some glances at his sister who still had her eyes glued to the monitor. Her fingers were working overtime as he heard the click clack of the keyboard on high speed. Kisara would occasionally talk to someone in her computer in English and it was quite odd to hear her with an American accent. Her usually sharp intonation whenever she spoke in Japanese became a fluid one when she spoke in perfect English. It was like she was a different person, almost, when she spoke in a different language. Yugi could understand the gist of the conversation, although it was mostly about her business, he just tuned her out and focused on his game.

True to her word, Kisara joined Yugi on the couch to play, but only after Yugi took a quick shower and Kisara cooked up a simple lunch for the both of them. They sat on the couch and went into an easy conversation. Eventually, Yugi got annoyed with himself and just flat out told everything about him and Yami to his older sister. From what happened the day of their first time to that night where they also shared their first kiss. The white-haired girl just nodded and smiled at Yugi as he told his story. He had blushed on some parts and kept glancing at Kisara's direction waiting for an odd reaction but didn't get any. It was refreshing to just let the secret out somewhat. Yugi controlled the words he used. Kept it as clinical as possible, but that didn't stop Kisara from psychoanalysing him, not that he didn't mind. She was nice yet blunt.

"You like him," she said simply after Yugi was finished telling his story.

"No I don't!" Yugi snapped a little too fast.

Kisara chuckled at his reaction. "You guys have been going at it for three months. You _must_ like him enough to keep having him over." She tapped her chin with her finger and pursed her lips. "Now that I think about it, he must like you too if he's willing to go through with all this too. Don't you think so?"

"Weren't you listening? I just told you that we're just _using_ each other."

"I _was_ here, you know," Kisara smirked. "Tell me something then." She shifted from her sitting position to lie down and rest her head on Yugi's lap. The younger Mutou leaned back to accommodate his sister and he lifted his feet on the coffee table. "You knew Joey hated him, as immature has his reasoning can be, he still hates Yami. You also knew that Tea is 'in love' with him, so to speak. I'll forgive you for the first time, but what made you want to sleep with him, _repeatedly_ if I may add, after that? You knew all the complications and yet you ignored them. Why?"

He knew the answer to this question. "I like having sex with him." As the words leave his lips, he visibly winced and suddenly thought about them. Did he just like Yami for sex? That wasn't it. Yami was a good guy, he was funny, drop dead gorgeous, smart, and surprisingly caring.

A scoff pulled Yugi out of his thoughts. "Horny bastard," she muttered jokingly. "I'm serious though. You like him, otherwise, all these complications you listed for me would weigh so much heavier than just great sex. And you should also accept the fact that he could like you too." When Yugi scoffed, she rolled her eyes. "He must see some redeeming quality to keep him interested in you, despite all this angst and drama you show him. And don't say you're good in bed because sex can be so bland after the initial lust and libido is gone."

Yugi rolled his eyes, "And what, pray tell, would that _redeeming quality_ be aside from _convenience_?"

"He said you were nice," she tried.

He cocked an eyebrow at her, "Nice is a redeemable quality?"

"Last I checked, yeah."

"You said nice was a bad thing the other night."

"I said _too nice_ was a bad thing. It's always bad to have too much of something," she clarified. "Have you considered dating him? Because I'm pretty sure friendship is already off the table for you guys."

This made Yugi's stomach drop. It's true that he was twisting Kisara's words right now, but he knew what those words meant. There were only two ways this would go down, either he and Yami started to date, or they break it off. Both cases scared the crap out of him. His hands froze for second then he felt something shift on his lap. He was too distracted to notice his sister poking his shoulder. It was Kisara's voice that broke him out of his stupor.

"Hey!" Kisara shook him softly. "You okay? I'll stop if you tell me to. You know that."

Yugi smiled as he saw Kisara's deep blue eyes that reminded him of that time his dad. Grandpa told him that Kisara had their father's eyes, but Yugi couldn't see his father in those deep blue eyes. "I'm fine, sis," he smiled warmly. "You just gave me a lot to think about."

"I'm sorry. I'll be a hypocrite for saying this but...don't overthink about this. And honestly, don't think about it at all just yet if you don't want to."

Yugi nodded and they shifted their conversation to a lighter one. Surprisingly, he felt better after that intense talk with Kisara. He felt like he actually had emotional support for something as fucked up as this. And that was good.

He never knew that he needed this kind of support.

* * *

"It's Monday and Mana's having lunch with the volleyball varsity team today," Yami said casually. His cousins were leaning against the lockers beside him. "You guys wanna have lunch at the rooftop today?"

Bakura raised an eyebrow at him, "Why? You want to avoid someone?"

Yami shrugged, "Not really. I just wanted a change in scenery is all." He closed his locker gently then started walk towards his classroom, his cousins following suit. He knew that his cousins knew that he was lying. In reality, Yami needed to follow Ryou. He overheard him and Yugi were planning on having lunch together at the rooftop, and like true stalker-ish fashion, Yami wanted to come with. He knew Yugi's friends didn't really like Ryou that much, it was mostly because Joey and Tristan got turned down by girls because they had a crush on Ryou. Tea was indifferent with Ryou. He didn't do anything wrong to her, so she was just nice. No amount of coaxing from Yugi will change Joey's and Tristan's view on the harmless timid white-haired teen.

"I don't mind going to the rooftop, as long as you buy me my lunch and you take mine," Bakura offered.

"I don't have a problem with that," Yami replied. "You know, for a mama's boy, you have a big problem with your mother's cooking."

Bakura scoffed, "She's making us go into this diet fad she saw on the internet. I will love her until my dying day, but she's insufferable when she's going through a mid-life crisis. I think she just realized she was getting old when it sank in that I'm already a senior and about to graduate."

"Not to mention finding out that Irina has a fucking 'boyfriend' too," Marik snickered. Yami joined in on the laughter at their cousin's expense. Bakura's younger sister, Irina just turned thirteen six month ago, and one little awkward family dinner later, the little blonde girl blurted out that she has a boyfriend. Yami and Marik were there when it all happened. Bakura almost choked on his food at the news. His parents shrieked over it too. But the little girl was just as much of an arrogant weirdo as her older brother.

" _Oh, you find out that 'Kura is gay and not a virgin anymore, but when I say that I have a boyfriend you guys freak out?"_

Of course little Irina knew that Bakura's virginity was a thing of the past. No matter how hard their parents tried to hide most of the mature discussions from the little girl, she was just too smart for her own good. Stealthy and devious like her older brother.

"Didn't that little shit cheat on your sister by kissing like a hundred other girls?" Yami asked.

"Yeah he did. The fucker didn't survive the humiliation I put him through," Bakura said proudly. Apparently, age is but a number to him when it came to his sister's tormentors.

After Yami bought Bakura's lunch, they went up to the rooftop and tried to look for a spot to have lunch on. The rooftop was usually where the first year students hang out for lunch, but they knew better when the seniors wanted a spot there. It was like natural law for them to move away when a senior walked in their direction. Marik and Bakura started to look for a space filled with freshmen that they can just scare away, while Yami tried to look for the reason he wanted to come up here. It only took him a few seconds before he eventually spotted the two boys.

"Oh so that's why you were so adamant on having lunch up here," Marik sneered as he elbowed his cousin lightly on the ribs. "You know you could've just told us you wanted to go sight seeing that's why you wanted to come here."

"Shush!" Yami hissed. He really didn't need Marik's inappropriateness right now. He looked over to Bakura for support and his white-haired cousin just gave Marik a slight shove as if putting his brain, manners, and common sense back into place. "Look, I'm trying to do what your boyfriend told me. This being a good opportunity to do so. So shut up and help me or I'll tell Malik on you." The younger platinum blonde had been Yami's number one supporter in winning Yugi's heart. The boy was a hopeless romantic which made Yami think that maybe Marik was one too. His cousin _did_ confess that Malik was the dominant one in their relationship.

The three cousins approached Yugi and Ryou. Yugi looked up to connect with the familiar intense scarlet gaze of Yami and his heart thumped so fast as it got caught on his throat.

"Hey, Yugi!" Yami greeted a little excitedly. His cousins were snickering softly behind him. "Do you mind if we join you for lunch?"

Yugi nodded. "Sure, grab a spot. Hey, Marik, Bakura." He gave a soft smile at the two.

"Hey, shrimp. Hey, Ryou," Bakura greeted his smaller look alike.

"Hello, 'Kura," Ryou greeted with a bright smile.

As the three cousins sat down, Yami and Marik looked at Ryou confused. Only Irina called their cousin 'Kura. It was an off-limits nickname that only Bakura's immediate family are allowed to use without dying instantly.

"Hey," was Bakura's only reply.

"I didn't know you and Ryou knew each other well, Bakura," Yami said. He took a seat right next to Yugi, making sure he was touching some part of the smaller teen.

"I'm his sister's piano teacher," Ryou explained. Again, Marik and Yami looked at Bakura for an explanation.

The taller white-haired teen scowled at them. "What? I don't tell you _everything_ about my sister."

Ryou pursed his lips, "I'm sorry, 'Kura. I didn't know it was a secret."

Bakura tore his gaze from his cousins and looked at Ryou with apologetic and irritated eyes. "It's not a secret. They're just jealous I have other friends outside our family." He gave his cousins a pointed look, daring them to say something.

Ryou tilted his head in confusion but dropped the topic altogether. "So, what brings you guys here on the rooftop?" he asked.

"We wanted some fresh air," Yami replied. He leaned a bit on the side so he could face Ryou and also put his face closer to Yugi's. The amethyst-eyed boy was blushing furiously at the small distance.

"Th-the open field has m-more space than here at the rooftop," Yugi replied. The distance between him and Yami was almost non-existent. He could inhale Yami's scent and, oh _gods_ did he smell sexy.

"True," Yami basically just purred at him, but maybe it was just in Yugi's imagination since the other people in their little circle didn't seem to notice. "But we wouldn't want to be in Ushio's line of sight. The brute and his cronies practically owns that part of the school."

Marik leaned back for a bit and studied his cousins. Yami and Yugi were basically eye fucking each other as they talked while Bakura looked surprisingly tame as he stared into Ryou almost...longingly? Is that right? There was longing in his eyes, along with frustration, annoyance, and fascination. He turned to his other cousin and Yami was talking to Yugi about their project. This was the first time he had actually seen the two interact and Marik was amazed at their chemistry. He had to smirk as Yami would "innocently" touch Yugi's hands as they talk. Yami was smart enough to sit so dangerously close to Yugi that their knees were touching. So at times, his hand would land on Yugi's thigh and the smaller teen would blush at the contact.

Marik's brain suddenly went into overdrive as he tried to play out every possible outcome from this. That was his quirk. Thinking five steps ahead of everyone. It was great with planning pranks, and great for seeing any future complications with their plans like Yami getting Yugi. Biggest barrier in their plans was Yugi's Avengers team always tailing him. How those three ever missed something like this was beyond him. Then again, he did miss it too, but that was mostly because they rarely hovered over Yami. Those three, on the other hand, had been Yugi's shadow whenever they were in school. The trio must be losing their touch if Yugi was up here without them.

"So, Yugi, where's your posse?" he asked.

The smaller teen turned to him and blinked. Yugi was blushing furiously. He looks lightheaded. "Umm… What?" Yugi asked dumbly.

"Blonde, brunet, and brunette with boobs. Where are they?" he asked with a smirk.

Yami's eyes were wide. What the hell was Marik doing insulting Yugi's friends like that? Luckily for him, Yugi just laughed at Marik then gave a big smile. "They prefer the cafeteria over the rooftop."

Ryou scoffed, "They don't like the rooftop because they know I have lunch here. Which is very immature of them." Ryou pouted then rolled his eyes before going back to his lunch.

Yugi just shook his head. "They can be immature. I'm sorry, Ryou."

Ryou shrugged, "I'm not even bothered by it. Just them. There are just some people you're going to have to kick out of your life. So much easier that way. Don't you think so?"

"Well… They've been my friends for so long, I don't think I can let them go that easily," Yugi said pouting.

Ryou just chuckled, "I meant me, Yugi, not you. You're too caring about your friends, I can't imagine you letting them go. And besides, I don't think it should bother them that you have other friends. They're not the center of your world." He gave a soft smile at his friend.

Unbeknownst to them, the three cousins were in deep thought. He was right. Yugi cared for his friends too much for him to leave them at the drop of a hat. Marik looked at Yami who was worried and having doubts while Bakura looked like he was in a rut. This was going to be harder than they thought. Marik nudged Yami out of his worried thoughts and gave him a pointed look to put his focus back on Yugi. The platinum blonde was already calculating everything in his head. He had studied a lot of people in this school, and ever since he found out about Yugi and Yami, he was studying the smaller teen closely. His friends can be pretty drastic and at times, he would spot an annoyed or exasperated look on his face which means he's not too happy about being protected by them. Another thing he had noticed was how their friendship has been used as blackmail on Yugi before. Then again, 'blackmail' was such a strong word but it fits. He's heard brunette with boobs go on and on about how their friendship is more important than the whole wide world to Yugi whenever she asked him for a favor.

He could use those teeny tiny breaks in their friendship to his advantage. To be honest, Yami was more decent than the company Yugi kept.

But that could be because Marik was biased.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the 3rd chapter. Yay! I hope you guys like it and please leave a review of what you guys think. I tried to write Kisara as a cool big sister rather than the very shy character that she was in the anime.


	4. Wanted: Confidante

“Have you been to a psychiatrist before?”

Yami blinked at the unexpected question. He sat up from his bed and saw Yugi’s naked back, the maroon sheets pooling around his waist. During their rooftop lunch, they talked about going to Yami’s house tonight. Because of the computer project, they’ve decided to have regular sleepovers, but not so regular that Yugi’s grandfather would suspect anything. And thanks to Yugi’s sister, they had back-up. Now, they were resting and doing the project at the same time.

“What?” Yami asked, he was lying down on the bed trying to nap and not really paying attention to anything.

Yugi turned around to face him. “Kisara asked me to go with her to meet with her psychiatrist from America. I have no idea what to expect.” When he saw the other boy tilt his head in confusion, Yugi blushed. “I… Uhh… Hmm… Sorry, you said I could talk to you about her,” he said while his voice started fade at every word.

“No, it’s not that. I’m just… Why would her psychiatrist from America come here and talk to you? Is there something wrong? Are you guys okay?” Yami asked after realizing that his silence was throwing different signals. He had to control the goofy smile that was about to grace his face. This was his opening that he’d been waiting for.

 “She has...issues. I don’t think it’s that big of deal if she’s fine now, but the way she would talk about it makes me think that maybe she has a  textbook full of problems she’s not telling us about.” This was unusual to Yugi. He was breaking one of his rules. He didn’t want to talk about his family because he knew the topic will eventually become about his parents. But he needed to talk to someone about Kisara before he exploded.

“But why a psychiatrist though? Is she taking medication?”

“She told me that she used to take medication while she was in the foster care system and during her time in America. Now, I think her doctor just wants to check if everything’s okay. After the meeting with her psychiatrist, the doctor’s going to refer Kisara to a new one here in Domino for when she relapses.”

“You’re nervous,” Yamim stated. He crawled towards Yugi to sit beside him. “If she wants you there, that’s a good thing. Right?” He resisted the urge to lean in to Yugi and wrap his arms around him to comfort the boy. He was too afraid to freak him out. Baby steps.

“I don’t know what to expect from the visit, what I’ll find out, and also, the psychiatrist might get a read on me,” Yugi rolled his eyes and shook his head laughing. He looked up at Yami who looked like he was fighting a stroke. Yugi laughed harder, “It’s okay to laugh at my misery. I give you permission.”

Yami let out a sigh and chuckled. “So, when’s the visit?”

“I honestly forgot. I was too freaked out with the news to listen to the rest. But I do remember she planned it before grandpa’s trip. Kisara was smart enough to plan it the weekend before Grandpa leaves for Egypt.”

Yami wanted to ask about his grandfather. Why was he going to Egypt? Has Yugi been to Egypt? Would he want to go to Egypt? Preferably with him on a date? He could introduce Yugi to his grandparents, show him the garden he used to play in. Maybe show him the school he went to when he was a kid. Go on the numerous dig sites his father would take him to. Show Yugi an entirely different side of him. Would his grandfather freak out if he found out that they were dating? Yami had to scoff at that question. Whatever they were doing, it was _not_ dating. But right now, he had something Tea, Tristan, and Joey didn’t have. He was now Yugi’s confidante. It can start with Yugi’s sister, then maybe about his grandfather, then about his friends. But now, he was going to take this and be happy with it. Take whatever Yugi gave and be happy with it.

Instinctively, he caressed Yugi’s cheek then let his hand run up to the teen’s scalp to lightly graze it with his nails. His eyes trailed from Yugi’s face to his neck and Yami smirked at the sight of the marks he’s left there. He leaned in and peppered the marks with chaste kisses. “Yugi,” he gasped breathily. He smiled victoriously at the shiver the boy made.

Yugi felt like he was on fire and freezing at the same time. Yami was only kissing his neck and nothing more. He would tilt his head to give the other boy more room, more access to his skin that Yami could kiss. He let out a small moan before pushing the taller teen away gently. “We have a project to do remember? And homework.” He chuckled breathily. His head was still swimming from the quick skin on skin contact with the very intense Yami Sennen. “Sex with you is mind blowing, but I don’t know about you, but I like having my grades at an A+ range.” He kept his eyes on Yami’s forehead. Any lower and he will jump him in a heartbeat, grades be damned.

Yami grumbled but nodded his head. “Did your sister help you with this?” he asked as he stared at the first few stages of their project.

Yugi groaned, “Why? Is it ugly?”

“No. I was just asking. She did promise to help us. I was just wondering how much she’s willing to help us with this thing.”

“She said that she’s willing to help with the bonus points and bugs we might encounter but not at the first stage. Why?”

“Well, the less work we have to do in the thing, the more time I get to spend with you _without_ the studying paraphernalia,” he replied wiggling his eyebrows.

Yugi laughed hard at him. His cheeks were flushed and his eyes were wet with tears. “Tempting, but no thank you. Too much of a good thing is bad. And I can’t imagine how sore I’ll be when we decide to just have sex daily.”

“There are numerous things that are wrong in your argument. You assume sex is a good thing. You’re wrong because sex is a _great_ thing.” His face was hard and serious for a moment but changed it to a silly grin almost instantly. “As for being sore, I can always take care of you,” he teased.

Yugi blushed furiously at Yami’s words for a moment. Then they both laughed and went to doing their computer project and helping each other with their homework, while still naked. It felt both so natural and so awkward at the same time. They were both at ease yet the sexual tension was there. Their lower bodies were covered by Yami’s blanket. As they worked, they would share jokes, laugh, and sometimes tease each other. During the little intervals of silence, Yugi would secretly glance at Yami to study him.

Ever since his conversation with his sister, Yugi had been observing Yami more. He wanted to know what was it that he liked about him. It can’t just be because of the sex. He had to admit that he was actually attracted to him. He can’t even be aroused when he sees Tea dance, but when Yami was in close proximity, the sexual tension was there. One provocative look from the boy and Yugi was blushing hard. So yeah, he was attracted to Yami. He was sure of that. But what else?

“Have you ever Googled your sister before?” Yami asked as he took over control of the laptop.

“I’ve thought about it. Why?”

Yami didn’t answer him, instead, he started typing Yugi’s sister’s name on the search bar and out came numerous pictures of her and news articles of her. Most of the pictures were either on the red carpet with her arms linked around two men, who Yugi knew to be her adoptive fathers, or candid pictures taken from afar. Odd. They browsed through articles about her but they weren’t as extensive as they’d like. Then they chanced upon a long article that was strictly about her. The two teens couldn’t help but laugh at how much of a clickbait the title was.

**_Why getting a one on one interview with the princess is never going to happen._ **

**_We interviewed the fathers of the very interesting enigmatic white-haired beauty about her since that's the best we could do._ **

_Kisara Van Bryce. The silver-haired princess of the two music kings Apollo Stravos-Van Bryce and Leo Van Bryce has constantly declined to be interviewed by anyone. According to her adoptive fathers, she prefers to keep her life as private as possible. A little delusional seeing as her fathers are the famous musical couple in the scene right now, Leonard Michael Van Bryce, the piano prodigy who has toured the world several times over for his concerts, and his husband, Apollo Stravos-Van Bryce, lead guitarist and vocalist of the famous rock band 3000. According to our intensive research, the couple adopted their princess in Domino, Japan during a world tour. The young girl of fifteen saved the couple from the shootout that happened in Domino and that was when they got close to the girl. Any accounts regarding Kisara's life before the adoption is still unknown. But as interesting her past is, the silvery white-haired beauty has shown that her future is more worth the time._

_Not only does she have beauty worthy of the spotlight she was forced upon, but she also has the brains too. She graduated as a valedictorian in high school at the age of sixteen and received a scholarship to numerous prestigious universities, particularly in MIT where she took Aerospace Engineering. Unfortunately, the princess apparently has a rebellious strain in her since she dropped out of college after her second year, she was eighteen at this time. But she didn't go down the performer path like her adoptive fathers. She borrowed a million dollars from her fathers when she enrolled in MIT for her personal research. Apparently, during her stay in MIT she had a habit of doing her mini projects and tinker into electronics eventually creating Pegasus's, CEO of Industrial Illusions, famous augmented reality paint canvas and made millions not only from the device itself but by patenting several technologies that came with the device. When asked if she had already paid the loan, her fathers said that she paid after gaining the contract from her new client. From there, the Van Bryce princess just started making a name for herself as an innovative genius and a master of virtual reality. (_ **_Check out our article on her very first virtual reality game on the HTC Vive)_ **

_The nineteen year-old multi-millionaire has just established another startup company this year after selling her_ **_previous one (Check out Duel Monster Online for more info)_ ** _to the equally young and tenacious CEO of Kaiba Corporation, Seto Kaiba. In total, the business magnate has a total of two startup companies under her domain, four if you count the other companies she has already sold off to the highest bidder._

_So a girl coming from a very high profile family, living life on the fast lane and slowly making a name for herself in the world of business, why decline any form of interview? Whether over the phone, or just through email by answering a questionnaire, the young multi-millionaire will turn down the interview. She wasn't even picky. No matter who tried to get her to interview her, whether it's on GMA or a high school paper, she has flat out declined. We're pretty sure that even if the First Lady asked personally for an interview, the girl will still turn it down. Her fathers told us the very ridiculous answer. "She likes to keep to herself. It took us a lot of coaxing to even get her to sing with us on stage on some of our tours." says Apollo with amusement._

_We tried to ask her employees what the CEO is like. One employee says that she's weird and was either in her office staring at her white wall or out of the office for a few days only to find out that she's in a whole other continent to think. Pictures of her in different countries that keep popping out on Twitter can justify to this. We were able to snag a quick picture of the silver-haired beauty at a cafe alone looking at her laptop. We thought she was working, but when we took a peek at her monitor, she was just playing Duel Monsters on her computer._

_We got an official statement from Maximillion Pegasus himself about the young princess._

_"Princess? You call her a princess? I see her as a dragon. You can send your best knights to take her down, and they will all come home with their tails between their legs. Even I felt defeated after my business meeting with her."_

_Apparently, Kisara is a silver-tongued, cutthroat dragon during business meetings. A girl who will take no shit from some stuffed shirt who could possibly be twice or thrice her age. Huzzah to her! As a teen in the business world, we shouldn't expect less. Even Japan's Seto Kaiba is known to be cold-hearted. Based from what we've gone through, we can't help but agree with Mr. Pegasus. Kisara Van Bryce is no princess. So we should stop calling her that. This fierce stubborn beauty is a magnificent dragon flying high and flying fast that has no plan on slowing down._

_So why can't we get an interview with her? Because we've been trying to deal with the dragon the way we deal with princesses._

_Oh well. Live and learn._

“Huh,” Yami finally said after reading the article. “Your sister’s cool but a bit too secretive.” _Sounds like someone I know_ , Yami thought as he stared at his companion.

“Yeah. I’m starting to discover that now. I didn’t exactly think going on Google to look into what she’s like would actually work. Thanks.”

“Actually, I only thought of that because of her father’s band, 3000.” Yami stared at his speaker where his phone was connected to. He was thankful for his tanned skin and the darkness of his bedroom since they were able to hide his blush as he remembered leaving the music on as they had sex.

“I never told you who Kisara’s parents were,” Yugi answered, his eyes narrowing. Did he? He can’t remember.

Clearing his throat, Yami answered. “Well, I just discovered the band recently thanks to Mana. I looked into it and went on YouTube to watch some of the videos.” He started to go to the website and searched through a specific video. “And I came across this video that has a lot of views.” He showed the video entitled ‘Apollo Stravos sings with Husband Leo Van Bryce and their adoptive daughter Kisara’. The thumbnail showed a picture of the three that they saw earlier. A red carpet shot of the three of them.

Yugi’s eyes went wide as he watched the video. It was a concert. The video looked like it was made by the producers of the concert. There was a man seated on a beautiful black grand piano. The man waved at the audience and the crowd roared with glee. Then enters another man holding the hand of a white-haired teenage girl. A gasp escaped Yugi’s lips when he recognized his sister. After quick introductions, a familiar tune from the piano started to play. The three began to sing Seasons of Love in harmony. There were backup singers so Yugi was having a difficult time distinguishing his sister’s voice.

But then came the first verse that was sung by Kisara, after which her father, Apollo, started to belt out the next verses. “Wow. This is so weird seeing her singing on stage like that,” he finally said after Kisara nailed a high note as if it was nothing.

“There are other videos of them singing too. This was the only one that had close-ups and you can actually hear her sing. Most were just taken by fans.”

“Are you interested in my sister?” Yugi blurted out without thinking.

The question made Yami jump. Did he seem like he was interested in Kisara?

Yugi chuckled. Yami was adorable and funny. Suddenly, things fell into place. He _did_ know Yami...sorta. Aside from being adorable and funny during moments like this, he was smart, organized, gentle, caring, and other things that Yugi can’t name at the moment. He smiled sweetly at the other boy. “I’m kidding, Yami. But thanks again for showing me this,” he said without thinking about it. When Yami turned to look at him he didn’t expect the soft look in his eyes. Yami’s scarlet eyes always looked like red hot melted rubies with his very intense gazes. They weren’t dilated and glazed with lust. It was gentle and warm, reminiscent of the cool sunset he’d see at the beach.

Crimson eyes twinkled in amusement, “I just wanted to help you get to know your sister better. But then again, there are just so few things about her.”

“But I trust Kisara. Despite all her secrecy, she’s nice and easy to talk to. Kinda like you,” Yugi said with a smile.

“Only, you get to have socially accepted sex with me,” Yami joked.

Yugi barked out a laugh. “Please no…” he gasped out in between his guffaws. “I will admit that my sister is hot, but no.” He held his sides as he tried to calm down from his laughter. He stared into Yami’s eyes and after a short pause of silence, the two of them shared a round of laughter.

“How’s it been living with her around?” Yami asked carefully. _Walk on thin ice. Tread carefully._

Yugi let out a calm smile that reassured the other teen. “It’s nice. It’s like I got a new best friend. She actually covers for me when grandpa asks where I go. She only has one condition and that’s to send her a text whenever I sneak out.” He looked over at Yami’s laptop and continued his work while he kept talking. “She’s really cool and smart. One thing I can’t quite put my finger at is the fact that she doesn’t sleep at night.” He pursed his lips at all those nights he would sneak a peek at the top of the stairs to see his sister with her bottle of bourbon on the dining table along with her laptop, eyeglasses perched atop her nose.

“Maybe she just has jetlag?” Yami supplied.

“No… It can’t be jetlag. She may be living at our place for just two weeks now, but she’s been in Japan for almost two months. I don’t think jet lag takes _that_ long.”

“Didn’t she say that she works on American time right now?” After coming home from that very awkward breakfast, Yami went and Googled about Kisara. Apparently called the Dragon of the business world. Not Dragon Lady. But a Dragon. According to the article where he saw that little snippet, it was because CEOs who were interested in taking over her many startup companies would send their best lawyers and partners to face her and they would always come back defeated, like kings sending knights to slay the dragon and failing miserably.

“Yeah but even grandpa noticed that should she sleep in the morning, it’s only for, give or take, three to five hours on a good day.”

“Why not ask her during your visit with her psychiatrist?” Yami suggested. Somehow he felt at ease talking to Yugi like this. Like a normal friend would. Despite their state of undress and the fact that they just had sex moment prior, they were genuine friends right now.

“Do you think it’s appropriate to ask that?” Yugi had never been to see a psychiatrist in so long. The last time he did was the court appointed one during the custody battle between his parents and his grandfather. The doctor was nice and polite, always asking standard yes or no questions. Then again, she would ask him if he had any questions, he could never think of one but the moment he leaves the office, he had thousand of questions floating in his head.

Yami shrugged, “I always see it in TV shows where couples ask the simple questions during therapy. Maybe you could do that.”

“Hmm. Well at least I have some kind of agenda that day. Hopefully I get to remember it.” They were silent again and Yugi was almost done with the first part of their computer project. “It was fun hanging out with you and your cousins at the rooftop,” he started. “I haven’t had a fun lunch wherein Joey and Tea wouldn’t argue about you,” he trailed off. He hadn’t meant to say that tidbit.

The other teen raised an eyebrow. “You guys talk about me during lunch?”

“Well, Tea does,” Yugi grumbled. “And Joey hates it that she’s put you on a fucking pedestal as if you crap out rainbows and daisies.”

Yami scowled. Why was Yugi so annoyed by it? Was it because Tea should’ve put him, her best friend, on that pedestal instead? Was Yugi jealous of him? Did he want to know the answer to that? “We both know I don’t belong on a pedestal.”

“Well… You belong on a _different_ pedestal Mr. _King of Games_ ,” Yugi sneered. He smirked as he elbowed the other teen lightly. “Kids look up to you, _your Highness_.” He snickered at the still scowling face of the other teen. Yugi poked at the other’s cheek. “Lighten up, Yami. If it makes you feel any better, I don’t idolize you like those other duelists and I don’t think you’re the gods’ gift to women like Tea and most of the girls in school do.” He pinched at Yami’s side to gain his attention. “I’m your neutral ground.”

Yami blinked multiple times at Yugi’s declaration.

_My neutral ground._

_Yugi is_ my _neutral ground._

_Mine._

He couldn’t help but smile at the possessive pronoun Yugi himself used, like Yugi just gave him permission to be possessive over him. All thoughts of Tea forgotten, Yami draped his arm on Yugi’s shoulders and scooted closer towards the smaller teen. “I like that,” he said with a soft smile looking at those amethyst eyes he constantly dreamt about.

Drawn to those scarlet eyes, Yugi leaned his head on Yami’s shoulder and closed his eyes. “I’m tired and sleepy. Can we call it a night?”

Yami was surprised with Yugi cuddling into him but smiled nonetheless. “Sure, Yugi. Let me just fix this up,” he reached for his laptop but his hands were swatted gently by Yugi’s hand.

“Just close it and leave it.”

The other teen followed his orders then slowly put the rolling desk at the side to avoid hitting it later. He looked at Yugi and his heart beat fast at the gentleness in those amethyst orbs. Yugi wrapped his arms around Yami’s waist and slowly pulled the boy down to lie down on the bed. They were still face to face and Yugi could still see the gentle sunset in Yami’s eyes. He liked the intense molten lava gaze Yami had, but he also like this warm beach sunset gaze. He moved his head so their noses and foreheads were touching. He rubbed his nose against Yami and was delighted when the taller teen scrunched his face at the action. He giggled softly before closing his eyes and gave Yami a sweet but passionate kiss.

Yami froze for a moment at how gentle the kiss was. He kept his eyes open and saw that Yugi’s were closed. A pale arm pulled him closer and Yugi’s kiss deepened. Finally, Yami closed his eyes and kissed back. He returned the kiss with the same gentleness and passion. He heard Yugi sigh before pulling away. The smaller teen tucked his head under Yami’s chin then cuddled closer to him. “Goodnight, Yami,” he whispered before letting sleep take over him.

The taller teen pulled Yugi closer to his chest and lightly kissed the top of his head. “Goodnight, Yugi,” he whispered back then closed his eyes to sleep.

 

* * *

 

 

_Beep. Beep._

Yugi was rushing to put his clothes on. His phone was buzzing on the bed. “Impatient bitch,” he hissed.

A naked Yami was relaxing sleepily on his bed with his hands behind his head and a lazy smirk on his face. He chuckled at the fumbling Yugi who was trying to struggle to put on his shirt. “You shouldn’t talk that way about your sister, Yugi.”

“Who the fuck asked you?” the smaller teen glared daggers at the lounging teen. He sighed and stopped fidgeting so he could properly put his shirt on. “Could you answer my phone and put it on loudspeaker?” he asked with a soft smile.

“Sure,” Yami replied with a chuckle. He took the phone and answered the call then lay it down on his bedside table.

“Kisara, hey, you’re on speaker,” Yugi said as he finally got his shirt on properly. He was ready to leave when Yami pointed his finger on a pair of purple plaid boxers at the foot of the bed. “Fuck,” he hissed and started to remove his pants.

“Good morning, brother dear. Good morning, Yami. You boys want coffee? I’ve got a canister full here in the car,” the twinkling voice in the phone said.

“Good morning, Kisara. I’ll pass on the coffee. I still have two hours of sleep left before I have to actually get up and get ready for school. Yugi’s almost done getting dressed though,” Yami replied with a groggy voice.

“I’ll be down in two minutes, Kisara!” Yugi exclaimed as he finally got all of his clothes on. “Make that thirty seconds. I’m finally dressed.”

“I’ll be the only car in front of Yami’s place,” the girl said before hanging up the phone.

Feeding his curiosity, Yami got out of bed and took a quick peek out his window. His eyes bugged out when he saw the black behemoth of a Jeep waiting outside his gate. “ _That’s_ your sister’s car?”

Yugi chuckled. “Yeah. I was expecting her to have like some small fancy sports car, but nope. She has a Jeep. I’m pretty sure she can put Ushio in the ICU with one hit from that thing.”

Yami laughed. “I’m seriously curious if she could actually do that.”

“I’ll ask,” Yugi replied with a laugh. “Okay, I’m all set. See you later in class!” Yugi waved and ran out the bedroom door before Yami could return the good bye.

He rushed out the front door and out the gate to get into the passenger seat of his sister’s Jeep.

“Hello,” Kisara chirped. “Get on the back seat and change. I have your pajamas there.”

“Huh. I didn’t even think of that.”

“This isn’t the first time I have to help someone sneak back in after sneaking out,” she giggled as she started driving out of the curb.

“You drive them back to the house too?” Yugi raised a skeptical eyebrow. He started to strip and put on his cotton blue pajamas.

“I learned how to drive at 14 and I also learned how to hot wire cars the same year.”

“That’s a load of bull,” Yugi snorted.

“You have Ms. Mara’s number right? Call her and she’ll tell you all about it,” she replied. “I’m buying a few things in the convenience store while you nap for a bit in the car. You want anything?”

“Buy me sweets and an energy drink to bring to school.” Yugi yawned as he snuggled at the backseat and was thankful that Kisara thought far enough to bring a pillow for him. He closed his eyes and drifted off to a dreamless sleep. The moment he woke up again, Kisara has already turned off the engine.

“Wake up, buttercup. We’re back home,” Kisara chirped. “Leave your uniform here, I’ll sneak them inside when grandpa’s not looking.” She poked her brother lightly waiting for him to squirm into wakefulness.

Amethyst eyes blinked rapidly and Yugi got up. “Why didn’t you wake me up when you got back from the convenience store?”

“I’m not heartless. You need sleep.” Kisara rolled her eyes and grabbed the two brown paper bags. “If grandpa asks, tell him I wanted to buy some female stuff and you tagged along because you woke up too early.” She handed the lighter brown paper bag containing sweets and an energy drink to Yugi and climbed out of the Jeep. When they got up to the main area of the second floor, grandpa was already up and cooking breakfast.

“Kisara, Yugi! You guys are out early,” grandpa exclaimed with a scowl.

Yugi rubbed sleep out of his eye. “Kisara went out to buy some stuff at the convenience store and I tagged along since I woke up too early.”

Solomon raised an eyebrow, “Was the convenience store that far that you had to take the Jeep?”

“My fault,” Kisara raised her hand. “I’m picky with the brand of...female stuff I use and it was an emergency.” She bowed her head apologetically.

Solomon just shook his head. “Women,” he grumbled through his breath. “Alright, you two go wash up. Yugi, I better not get a call from your school saying you were sleeping in class.”

The younger Mutou sibling scoffed, “I say you should expect it grandpa. But don’t worry, Kisara bought me an energy drink to bring to school.” He and Kisara walked up the stairs to their rooms to clean up. Once Yugi was alone in his bedroom, he dove to his bed face first. Today is such a weirdly normal day. He hoped that the rest of it would go smoothly as well.

There was a soft knock on his door and he just groaned in reply.

“Hey, babycakes, you left this in the Jeep,” Kisara said softly.

Yugi felt the bed shift with the added weight and he felt his phone being placed in his hand. “Thanks, sissy,” he said through the mattress. “For today.”

Kisara patted Yugi’s shoulder blade lightly. “That’s what siblings are for, brother dear.” She giggled and ruffled his hair. “Make sure you’ve taken a bath before you go near grandpa. You smell of sex and sin.”

Yugi was on the verge of sleep when he felt his phone buzz. He jolted up into a sitting position and looked at his phone. It was a text from Yami.

**‘Don’t fall asleep or you won’t wake up on time. You always fall into a deep sleep so quickly.’**

“Aww he’s so sweet!” Kisara cooed. She snuggled closer to her brother then winced at his unusually warm temperature. “You’re hot, Yugi.” She rubbed her hands together then checked Yugi’s forehead. “You’re burning up.”

Yugi just groaned in reply. He felt like his whole body was being pressed down on the bed by the weight of the sky. He couldn’t even make a witty remark for his sister.

“Wait here, Yugi.” Kisara dashed back down to the main living area. “Hey, grandpa. Do you know where the thermometer is? I think Yugi has a fever.”

“Oh dear. Check the coffee table. There’s a drawer there where we keep an extra thermometer. The one in the medicine cabinet always gets misplaced.”

“Alright. Don’t worry, grandpa. If Yugi’s sick, I’ll stay home to take care of him. You can man the shop.” She gave a soft smile at the old man. Kisara also made a mental note to give Yugi a quick sponge bath before their grandfather checks up on him. She ran back up the stairs and into Yugi’s room to take his temperature. “Yugi,” she tapped on the lying body on the bed. Yugi squirmed for a bit before turning to lie on his back. “I need to take your temperature.” Kisara gave the thermometer to Yugi and he put it in his mouth.  “You feeling dizzy?”

The younger Mutou sibling nodded softly. Even with his eyes closed, he knew nodding will only make the dizzying worse.

Once the thermometer beeped, Kisara pouted as she saw the reading. “Thirty-nine degrees. That’s a fever. I’m telling grandpa so he can call your school.” She got up and went out to get two wash cloths from the linen cabinet then went to the bathroom and got a basin of cold water. She went back to her brother’s room and set the basin down on Yugi’s bedside table.

“I’m giving you a quick sponge bath to lower your body temperature,” she said as she soaked one of the wash cloth. “Sit up and take off your shirt.”

“I take cash upfront before I remove my clothes,” Yugi rolled his eyes before following his sister’s orders. He leaned against the headboard and let Kisara do her work. He flinched when his warm skin came in contact with the cold water. “I should send Yami a quick text and tell him I have a fever. He might’ve caught it.”

“Go ahead. But I think you got it from sleeping in my car or something. Mixed temperatures and such. Letting your sweat dry up with cold air can also be the cause.” She was done with the spongebath and ordered Yugi to put his shirt back on. Then, she used the second wash cloth and soaked it into the cold water then wrung it out before putting it on Yugi’s forehead. “I’m going to tell grandpa you’re sick then I’ll bring you some breakfast and paracetamol. Stay in bed and after a couple of hours, I’ll check your temp again.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Yugi gave a weak salute before turning his attention back on his phone.

**‘I’m down with the fever. How about you?’**

After a few seconds, he got a reply from Yami.

**‘I feel fine. You’re not going to school today? I can send you our homework if you want.’**

Yugi smiled then paled when he realized that with him absent for the day, Tea would bring his homework to his place. He needed to get Kisara out of the house long enough that she doesn’t cross paths with the gang. If Yami brings his homework, then he’ll meet grandpa. He sent a quick reply.

**‘Nah. I’m pretty sure Tea will ask Miho later and she’ll bring them to me. You should head straight home after school and sanitize your place in case I left my germs there.’**

**‘You sure? I won’t mind.’**

**‘I know you won’t. But I’d prefer that my study buddy to be illness free. I’ll be asking you what we missed this Friday, assuming I’ll be better by then.’**

**‘Alright. Get well soon, Yugi. See you Friday. Drink lots of fluids.’**

**‘Will do, doc.’**

Yugi set his phone to silent mode and closed his eyes. The light from his phone made him dizzy. After a few more minutes of trying to breathe normally, he heard his bedroom door open.

“Hey, Yugi.” It was grandpa. He brought a glass of water. “Your sister is cooking some soup downstairs for you. I just came up to do a quick check-up on you. Your soup’s going to be ready soon. Try to eat. If you need anything, Kisara’s in the other room and I’ll be down at the shop. Okay?”

“Yes, grandpa.”

“Yugi, I wanted to ask…” Solomon hesitated for a second before speaking again. “How are you and your sister getting along? Are you okay with her around?” Yugi’s grandfather worried his lip bit kept his eye contact. Plum eyes were filled with concern and anxiety.

His grandson gave a soft smile. “Kisara’s great, grandpa. We get along pretty great and I like having her around. I kinda like the feeling that it’s crowded here at home,” he joked.

Solomon nodded with a chuckle. “Are you nervous about the session with her psychiatrist. Because I know I am.”

“I honestly don’t know what to expect, grandpa. But I’m trying to be positive. It shouldn’t be that big of a deal if she’s the one insisting.” Yugi was thankful that Yami gave him this point of view. He hadn’t really thought that his grandpa was just as anxious as he was. The older Mutou didn’t seem troubled at all when Kisara sprung the news on them. He had a soft smile and agreed to come along.

“Alright. We’ll worry about it on the day itself. Right now, you need to rest. I don’t like it when you miss a day of school.”

Yugi rolled his eyes, “My grades are along the A+ range, grandpa. Missing a day won’t hurt my chances of graduating.”

“Well I already called the school to let them know you’re sick. Hopefully your fever breaks within the day and you can go to school tomorrow.”

Yugi’s bedroom door opened again. “Hey, guys. Yugi, I come bearing breakfast.” Kisara entered the room carrying a tray of tomato soup, another glass of water and paracetamol. “It’s a recipe I picked up in college. It has tomatoes, macaroni, chicken, celery, onion, and other spices.”

Yugi got a whiff of the concoction and it made his mouth water. “Oh man. This smells amazing. I might want to get sick more often if you always cook this.”

“Yugi’s right, Kisara. Where did you learn to cook like this?” Solomon added.

Kisara giggled. “There’s more downstairs, grandpa if you want a bowl. And to answer your question, I shared an apartment with some Italian dude. He always made this soup whenever someone was sick, then he eventually taught me the recipe.”

“You were roommates with a guy in a college?”

“There were ten of us there. Five guys, five girls. The apartment was just big enough for the ten of us. It had a small kitchen, a study area that’s also our dining and living room,” she explained.

“Your fathers approved of this?” grandpa asked.

“I insisted. Cheaper rent and most of my roommates became my business associates.”

The three got into a conversation with their life in Domino, the game shop, grandpa’s job at the university, Yugi’s friends, and even Kisara was able to share her antics  growing which grandpa was not too impressed by but grateful that she eventually stopped when she, “grew out of it”. Grandpa eventually left the two siblings alone so he could work at the shop. Yugi just had three spoon fulls of the soup before pushing it aside. “I’m full.”

Kisara scowled. “I may not be some big shot chef, but even I know that that soup actually tastes good.”

“Oh, Kisara, it’s not that. I’m just dizzy and I don’t feel like eating.”

“I’m not leaving until you put a dent on that soup.” Her face was hard but her eyes showed a hint of concern and amusement. “Stop being so childish and stubborn.” She studied her brother and spoke quickly, “And don’t even _dare_ roll those eyes at me. If you plan on going to school tomorrow, you will eat your breakfast.”

“Can you at least feed me this through an IV or something?” he joked. When Kisara gave him a look, Yugi put up his hands defensively. “Okay, okay. I’ll force this down my throat. Could you at least stay for a bit. I don’t want to feel like a prisoner here.”

Kisara chuckled, “No problem. But after you eat, take the paracetamol in a four-hour interval. I’ll also take your temperature during those intervals.”

Yugi rolled his eyes, “I know how to take care of myself when I have a fever, Kisara.” He wasn’t used to his sister being such a mother hen. Then again, he hadn’t been sick since Kisara entered their lives. Maybe she was a mother hen when someone was sick. He was used to the girl just being around. If Kisara doesn’t leave when school ends, there was a high chance that she would meet one of his friends today. He wasn’t ready to introduce her just yet… And Kisara might let the whole Yami ordeal slip.

“You want me out of your room so bad?” she asked with mock hurt eyes.

_Great. She inherited the puppy dog eyes too._

“Knock it off!” he used his hand to cover his sister’s eyes. He knew the power of the infamous Mutou Puppy Dog Eyes all too well. He chuckled when Kisara giggled. “Don’t you have work to do? Aren’t you supposed to be working or something?”

Kisara raised an eyebrow at his bowl of soup and Yugi began to take more spoonfuls of it. “If you must know, I’ll be meeting with a realtor this afternoon to finalize the papers for the building I bought.”

Amethyst eyes went wide. “You bought a building?” he asked incredulously.

“Yup. Just fifteen floors of awesomeness and the roof deck is beautiful! You can do cocktail parties and whatnot over there. I might make a small garden there. I also need to get permits to do the renovations.”

“How did you buy a fucking building in the business district?” Yugi asked when he was able to get a word in during his sister’s rambling.

She just shrugged. “I have the means. I run companies, as you know. Since I don’t need to buy a condo, I have enough money to buy the whole building. And maybe get a loan to do the reconstruction.”

Yugi shook his head slightly, his head still felt a bit heavy due to his fever. “I forget how insanely rich you are.” The issue on Kisara’s wealth was part of the small discussion the three had in Mara’s office. It was agreed that Kisara would only pay half of the utilities and after so much coaxing, Solomon has agreed that Kisara pay off all of their debts and buy the deed to the shop. Although the old man had been against “taking advantage” of Kisara’s wealth, the girl had insisted on it. She claimed it was her way of making up for lost time that she could have been paying her part in the house and the bills. Now, all the loans for the game shop have been paid, the Mutou family now officially owned the land and the building. Their grandfather put his foot down when it came to paying for Yugi’s education saying that it was his responsibility as his legal guardian to do so which Kisara respected.

“You have seen my car right?” she smirked.

Yugi rolled his eyes. How could he not see that behemoth parked beside their place? “That giant is not a car, Kisara. That thing looks like it ate a car. I don’t understand though. Don’t rich people like you buy those fancy European sports cars?”

“Well, those things are too easy to wreck. Besides, with my baby, people actually avoid me on the road.” When Kisara eyed Yugi’s almost empty bowl, she nudged the teen to take the paracetamol. “Now that you’ve eaten and taken your meds, we need to lower your temperature.” She took the damp cloth from the basin and wrung it out before wiping her brother’s face. “Don’t look at me like that. This actually lowers your temperature. I’m not trying to molest you,” she scolded.

Yugi pouted as he was subjected to his sister’s fussing. Despite the humiliation, the cold cloth felt amazing. He felt uncomfortably hot everywhere and at the same time, he also felt cold. Thankfully, the ice cold cloth was comforting him. He was ordered to lay down and the cloth was placed on his forehead. His eyes also felt hot, so he placed the cloth above his eyes. He closed his eyes and let sleep take him.

Even though his eyes were closed, he still felt like he was falling and floating at the same time.

 

* * *

 

“Hey, Yugi!” Tea greeted sweetly at him as he entered the school gate. His other friends were already waiting for him by the tree near the entrance of the building waving at him. “I heard you were sick. You feeling better now?” she asked putting a hand on his shoulder as they walked towards their other friends.

“I’m fine, Tea. It’s just a fever. No biggie,” he brandished his infamous boyish charm smile at Tea that was always a signal to drop the topic. “I didn’t miss anything big, didn’t I?”

Tea shook his head. “Not that Miho mentioned.” Her eyes were so bright with excitement it made Yugi suspicious. “Oh, Yugi, I’m going to ask Yami on a date on Friday! Of course, he can’t say no to it.” She clung to Yugi’s arm as she whispered excitedly.

A cold shiver ran down his spine at this little tidbit. “O-Oh? R-Really?” He had to clear his throat multiple times to get rid of his stutter. Why the hell is he so nervous about this? Of course, there’s a little annoyance in his head that made him think that Yami might actually say yes to this. Then there’s the little chance that Yami might decline Tea and he has to deal with it with a very guilty and heavy heart… Not that he would be the reason Yami would decline Tea, but he couldn’t help himself if he thought of it that way.

Tea nodded excitedly. “I scored tickets to this concert for a band that I heard Yami likes. And the concert is in Tokyo…” she trailed off and wiggled her eyebrows. “And they’re selling alcohol in the concert. I’ve been listening to their songs all week to prepare myself.” She clasped her hands together and gushed at her plan.

Yugi blinked. What _was_ Yami’s favorite band? With knotted eyebrows, he tried to remember if he ever saw any CDs in Yami’s bedroom. He remembers Yami playing Kings of Leon one night in his bedroom and sometimes Muse, but which of those were his favorite? “What’s his favorite band?” he asked trying to sound uninterested.

Before Tea could answer, Yami arrived in the school building with his earphones on and his head down. The brunette blocked his path with a determined smile. She took out tickets and greeted the teen sweetly. “Hey, Yami!”

Crimson eyes stared up from the ground to meet Tea. After a second of confusion, his face contorted to an annoyed scowl. He connected with Yugi’s amethyst eyes with a pleading look. He was only returned with a defeated look. He looked at Tea again with disinterest. “Can I help you?”

“Actually… I have tickets to Calla Lilies. I was wondering if you would like to come with me. It’s on Friday,” she said with confidence.

Yugi tilted his head on the side. Yami liked Calla Lilies too?

“I’m sorry, Tea,” Yami answered smoothly. He chanced a glance at Yugi’s way and the glint in his eyes made Yugi nervous and excited at the same time. “I have plans with someone on Friday. I could never skip out on them for anything.”

Tea pursed his lips. “Oh? Who is it? Your cousins? Maybe they’d understand if you told them it’s your favorite band.”

Keeping eye contact with Yugi. “Actually, I’m spending a night with my boyfriend,” he said.

Yugi’s eyebrows shot up at Yami’s statement.

_No. He wouldn’t._

His heart started to beat faster. He couldn’t hear what Tea was saying but it sounded something between “What the fuck?” and “Who’s the slut?” he really didn’t care because the delicious piece of ass, that was Yami, was smirking at him with lust-glazed eyes as he walked over to his direction.

“I don’t appreciate you calling my boyfriend that, Tea,” Yami dismissed her. Once he was merely inches from Yugi, using his index finger, he tilted Yugi’s face to his direction then practically purred his next words. “Don’t listen to her hurtful words, _koi_.” His breath fan across Yugi’s face. He closed his eyes and placed a soft yet passionate kiss before putting his arm around the smaller teen’s waist and dragged them to their classroom.

Yugi’s face was warm with a blush. “Why did you do that?” he hissed. First off, they weren’t dating so he wasn’t Yami’s boyfriend in any way, shape, or form. Secondly, whatever happened to keeping their... _thing_ a secret? And lastly, he has no idea how to deal with the consequences now that his friends know about them.

Yami just shrugged. “Are you saying that you’d rather I go with her in the concert Friday night?” he challenged as he nuzzled his nose behind Yugi’s ear.

The smaller teen shivered at the contact. Gods did he miss him all of a sudden. “Well...no…” His voice was strained as he tried not to moan.

“So… Maybe it’s because you want to go with her instead?” He discreetly ran his tongue behind Yugi’s ear before pulling away with a satisfied smirk on his face.

“ _Fuck no_ ,” Yugi scoffed. “But why did you tell her I was your boyfriend?”

Instead of acknowledging the question by answering, Yami dragged Yugi to a janitor’s closet and locked the door. “So she and other people would back off from the both of us,” he growled. “Do you have a problem with that?” He pressed Yugi against the door and lifted Yugi’s thighs to wrap them around his waist. “You are too amazing for me to just give away anyways,” he breathed against Yugi’s neck.

Yugi’s head was swimming at the different sensations Yami has given him. There was the nervousness in their current situation. They could be caught in this very compromising position. The nervousness was actually turning him on right now. Then there’s the fact that he could feel Yami’s hard on against his. He needed a clear head. They haven’t actually talked about this whole relationship thing yet and Yami’s body against him wasn’t going to help.

Lunch time came way too fast for Yugi. He couldn’t even remember what happened during his classes. His last memory was him and Yami in the janitor’s closet and even that was already a distant memory. He went inside the cafeteria with his heart beating so fast. Spotting his usual table, he wasn’t sure if he was relieved or nervous to find it empty. What were they going to think of him now? Were they going to hate him? He knew that Tea would. The girl had been fantasizing over Yami for four years now, and he knew that all too well. She told him how she would love to spend the rest of her life with Yami and he, her best and oldest friend, just took that life from him. Granted, Yami never returned Tea’s feelings, but what kind of friend did it make him for “stealing” Yami from her? He winced at his own train of thought. Yami was never hers to begin with, and it was Yami who made the move on him… then again he never pushed the taller teen away. In fact, he encouraged him and always asked for more.

He was put out of his reverie when a hand clasped at his shoulder and turned him around. The next thing he felt was the harsh sting on his left cheek and the pain in his ears as Tea began to yell it him.

“You call yourself my best friend! How _dare_ you take him away from me!” Tea wasn’t crying, but her face was red with rage. “You _knew_ I was in love with him! But I guess you just can’t take my rejection so you’re doing this to get back at me!”

“Tea…”

SMACK!

Yugi flinched at the second slap on his cheek. He was sure that his ear was ringing, he could feel himself getting dizzy.

“You don’t get to talk, Mutou! I’m the one who’s talking!” she pointed an accusing finger at him. “How could you? I thought we were friends? What? Just because I never looked at you the same way you looked at me, you’re willing to disregard our years’ worth of friendship just to get back at me?” She was now in tears and Joey and Tristan were now behind him trying to console her.

Yugi looked at Yami’s usual table and saw that the taller teen was now walking away from the drama.

_You’re leaving me? After everything, you’re just going to leave me?_

“After everything we’ve done for you, all the bullies we shielded you from, all those times we listened to you go on and on about your problems, and this is how you repay us? Why? Because Tea broke your heart one time?” Joey scolded.

Yugi never felt so small in his entire life. He tried to speak but his voice left him too, just when he needed it the most.

Just like the way Yami left him.

His head throbbed at the voices of his friends scolding him for being a traitor. Add that to his frustration of trying to speak but couldn’t. He let out a scream but he couldn’t hear anything. He tried to move but his body won’t left him.

Then there was darkness and the sound of a familiar voice.

“Yugi? Yugi! Wake up!”

He woke up with a gasp and he suddenly sat up clutching his head. Sitting up too fast was a big mistake. Closing his eyes shut and rubbing his temples to soothe his head ache. He felt a hand caressing his hair and another soothing his back.

“Hey,” Kisara spoke softly. “I just got home and I could hear you fussing when I got in. You were having a dream, baby brother.” She could feel her brother’s body burning up worse than when she last checked on him. “You’re fever’s worse. Let me check your temp. And it’s also time for your paracetamol.”

Yugi felt the table being forced upon him along with the glass of water. He took it willingly and put the thermometer in his mouth so his sister could check his temp. When the little gadget beeped, Kisara took it and scowled.

“Thirty-nine degrees. Your fever spiked. This isn’t good. Any higher and we have to take you to the hospital.” She took the discarded cloth on the side of Yugi’s pillow and dipped it in the water.

“Do you think I’m a bad person?” he blurted out his question.

The blue-eyes girl scowled as she continued wiping her brother’s body with the cold cloth. “Why do you ask? Have you done something that would make you a bad person?”

“I slept with Yami,” he said, defeated.

“That doesn’t qualify as a bad thing, Yugi. Well, unless you’re the religious type.”

“It does when your best friend is in love with him.” He closed his eyes and clung onto the remnants of his dream. He could only remember Tea’s voice and the lack of Yami’s support. “I wasn’t even in love with him when we first had sex. I was attracted to him, but not in love. He came onto me, I should’ve stopped, but I didn’t. I don’t even know why…”

“Don’t be an idiot. You know why you didn’t stop and I’m not even going to bother pushing that idea to you. It’ll be better if you realize this on your own.” Kisara’s eyes were soft yet her voice was commanding. “Stop being so melodramatic, it’s the fever speaking. What are you so afraid of?” She took note of the anxiety in Yugi’s eyes.

_To lose my friends if I choose Yami. To lose Yami if I choose my friends. To lose Yami after choosing him. To lose my friends after choosing them. No matter where I go, I’m sure I’ll be left alone in the end._

“I’m afraid that I’ll have to choose between them.” He said softly. He knew he had to one day choose, and he wasn’t willing to let go of either one. And he didn’t even know which one was the least worse choice to make. “People my age shouldn’t be making decisions like this,” he hissed frustratingly.

“People shouldn’t _force_ you to choose between the guy you like and your friends.”

“I don’t even know if I like him!” Yugi exclaimed. His frustration was making his head spin faster. He closed his eyes and fell back on his pillow. “And even if I do, and I’m not saying I do, but _if_ did like him, I wouldn’t want to. Do you get that?”

He felt his sister wipe his face again with the cold cloth to ease his headache which felt like heaven to him. “I honestly do. Liking someone is just setting yourself up to all the possibilities of getting hurt. I know what that feels like.”

Yugi opened one eye to see his sister’s soft and sad smile. He’d heard of his sister’s own pain being in the foster care system. How she had to stop herself from liking her adoptive parents knowing they’ll have to let her go soon. The whole thing developed her own brand of commitment issues. “What if-”

“I’m going to stop you right there, Yugi,” she strongly interjected. “I’m telling you right now that any sentence that starts with the words ‘what if’ is _never_ healthy.” She placed the cloth on top of Yugi’s head then took a seat next to him on the bed. “Whether you guys have the same feelings for each other or not, other people’s feelings shouldn’t matter because _this_ is between you two.” She looked down and saw that Yugi was pursing his lips in a pout. She couldn’t see his eyes since he put the cloth over them but she knew his eyebrows were knotted in deep thought.

“I value my friends too, sissy,” he smirked at the new nickname he had started calling his sister before going back to his serious expression. “There are times wherein I feel like I don’t value my friendship with them and I feel guilty. And I hate feeling that way.”

“Why do you feel that way? Because you like the guy that your best friend is ‘in love’ with? That’s bullshit and you know it,” she scolded with a soft voice, careful not to irritate the sick teen on the bed. “Love at first sight is complete and utter bullshit, Yugi. I’m going to slap you senseless if you think otherwise.”

This made Yugi think. Tea, in all of Yami’s four years in Domino, never had even a single class with the crimson-eyed teen. She’d seen him in passing, during lunch, on field trips, and school assemblies. Yami didn’t join any clubs, and never went to any volleyball games, despite being friends with Mana. And Mana doesn’t even like Tea. They never had any legitimate interaction that didn’t involve Tea walking up to him and relentlessly flirting with him. Meanwhile, he and Yami had already had sex, reviewed for exams, did homework together, they even joke around, and recently, they had had a serious talk. He actually knew parts of Yami’s personality that he liked. It wasn’t just the sex, and he just realized this last night.

“Yugi, stop overthinking this, and also, it won’t do your fever any good. You always say yes to Yami because it feels right right?”

Yugi sat up and nodded. He knew what Kisara was talking about. Don’t do what you _think_ is right but what _feels_ right. Like saying yes to Yami. Because no matter how many times his mind tells him it’s wrong, being with him always feels so right. He leaned his head on Kisara’s shoulder and closed his eyes. He didn’t need another nightmare but his head was killing him. He felt his phone vibrate and he reached out to see several messages from Yami.

**‘I know you said Miho will give Tea the notes you need. But judging from how much that girl would blink every second, I doubt she has the energy to write down notes.’**

**‘I’ll scan my notes and send them to you when I get home.’**

**‘Sorry for spamming you. Still no homework. Btw. I hope I’m not disturbing your sleep.’**

Yugi couldn’t help but smile. Yami was caring. The teen had sent almost a play by play of the school day. He’d never received this much attention from Yami before, not that he was complaining. It was cute.

“You better reply or you might break his little heart,” Kisara teased.

Chuckling, Yugi sent a simple reply.

**‘Just woke up, I sleep like a log according to my sister. Current temp is 41 degrees. I feel kinda dizzy. Will try to sleep again later. Call me if there’s anything important.’**

“ _Call you_ ?” Kisara asked with a sly smile. “I thought you guys _strictly_ texted?” She giggled then cuddled her brother to snatch the phone from his hands. “Maybe you should add an I miss you or something.”

“HEY! Give that back!” Yugi tried to wrestle the phone from his sister’s grasp but Kisara was blessed with their mother’s height. Luckily, Kisara was actually merciful and simply gave the phone back without any shenanigans. “We are _not_ going to go there.” He looked at the phone and saw a new message from Yami.

**‘Rest more, Yugi. Don’t worry about school. I got you covered.’**

At the corner of his eye he could see his sister taking a peek. He put away his phone from view. “Do you mind?” He asked annoyed which was only replied with a giggle. He sent a few more replies to balance out Yami’s messages.

**‘I will. No worries. My sister is watching my temp better than any doctor or nurse I ever had.’**

**‘Btw, I expected that from Miho. Thanks in advance for the scans. You’re my saviour.’**

Yugi heard Kisara coo at his text message. He tried to shoo her away and the blue-eyed girl stood up. “Go sleep some more. You’re being overly emotional and melodramatic right now because you’re sick and your dream must’ve freaked you out. So rest, if you don’t, I’m slipping sleep aids in your food. I’ll be at the mall to do some shopping for my room and some new clothes. Oh and I’m bringing your laptop so I can buy parts for it.” She walked up to Yugi’s desk where his laptop and charger was. “Before you protest, you can pay me for either the labor or the parts but not both. I’ll be home before dinner.” She laid a soft kiss on Yugi’s cheek before leaving.

The teen was able to sleep better after that. He didn’t dream much, if he did he couldn’t remember. He was in deep sleep when his friends visited the game shop to give him the notes for the day. Solomon had asked them to let Yugi sleep since his fever hasn’t broken yet, but thankfully his temperature was going down. By the time Kisara got home, he woke up not feeling dizzy and with a temperature of thirty-eight degrees. He actually felt human again. But due to his fever, Kisara had only allowed him to go out of his room for dinner and to wash his face and feet. Other than that, he was sentenced back to his room to rest.

With Kisara finally fixing his laptop, he was able to spend the rest of the night copying Yami’s notes that the taller teen had emailed to him. Thankfully, they didn’t have any homework and he didn’t miss anything big. He and Yami ended up texting each other during the night about what happened in school. Something they’ve never done in the three months they’ve been...together.

**‘Hey, Yami. What’s your favorite band?’**

Yugi couldn’t help but ask due to his very annoying and almost vivid dream.

**‘I really don’t have a favorite. I just listen to random songs that I like depending on my mood. But I guess the band I have the most songs to would be Desert Roses and Calla Lilies. How about you?’**

Okay, so they didn’t technically share a favorite band, but it was close. Desert Roses is heavy metal while Calla Lilies is alternative rock. Yugi guessed Yami was into all type of rock music given the music he rarely heard in his room.

**‘I love Calla Lilies especially their left handed bassist. The guy’s awesome. I wish I knew how to play guitar.’**

**‘Their bassist is left-handed? I never knew. Bakura knows how to play guitar. I can ask him to teach you.’**

**‘Left-handed but uses a right hand guitar. Bakura plays? That’s so cool! He doesn’t seem like the musical type.’**

**‘It’s the psycho tendencies, I know. But his parents had insisted he and his sister learn at least one instrument. He’s good.’**

As he continued copying Yami’s notes, they started talking about outside school, like games. Apparently, aside from Duel Monsters, he and Yami shared similar interest with a lot of games. They added each other on Steam and Yugi was quite impressed with Yami’s game library and they both promised for a game night and he was invited to a game night with Yami and his cousins. By ten o’clock Yugi’ fever finally broke and he was given the approval from both his guardians to go to school. Of course, he hoped that his dream from earlier didn’t come true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Overly emotional Yugi... Aww the poor thing. Please comment what you think so far! Next chapter will be up soon!


	5. Decisions and Their Consequences

Yugi got a text from Tea that there was going to be a school assembly during first and second period. She didn’t say the specifics but insisted on getting to school early so they could have better seats in the gym and avoid bullies. Once Yugi got passed the school gate, he was greeted by Joey and Tristan who accompanied him to the locker area before heading towards the gym for the school announcement. At the corner of his eye, he saw Yami with his cousins, along with their friend Mana, and Ryou. They were already headed towards the gym as well. He gave a small smile and shy wave at the group but kept his eyes at Yami.

Joey spotted the exchange and scoffed when he saw Ryou and Yami. He blocked their view of Yugi and huffed. “How are you, Yug? We visited you yesterday but gramps says you were asleep so we couldn’t see you.” He draped his arm around Yugi’s shoulders protectively and at the corner of his eye, he gave a harsh glare at the other group.

The blond had always hated Yami for what he did in second year. He got a nice beating from his father because of it. Plus he always gets scolded by Tea whenever the topic comes up, even Yugi would defend the bastard. His own best friends would take Yami’s side over his. Joey was careful not to attack Yami while his psychotic cousins were in the vicinity. He has yet to give the guy a piece of his mind for the hell he went through.

Then there’s Ryou. The guy got him fired from his part time job for telling the manager that he was late. Now, Joey has to beg for his old busboy job that was near the school which he got thanks to Tristan. But the pay wasn’t as good. And the manager was just as annoying.

“I’m good, Joey. I just felt so dizzy that I couldn’t get up from bed,” Yugi explained. Once they arrived to the gym, Joey took their seats and waited for the place to fill up.

“Are you sure you didn’t just want to skip a day?” The blond joked elbowing his best friend softly. “I’d fake a fever too to get out of going to school.”

Yugi chuckled, “I really was sick, Joey. I can’t fake a forty-degree temp when I’m holed up in my room with nothing but a basin of ice cold water and a guard at my door.” His eyes wandered to look for that very distinct tri-colored hair he knew all too well. He felt a buzz in his pants pocket. He looked at his phone when his friends weren’t looking.

**‘On your 8 o’clock.’**

Yugi hid his phone from his friends fast then slowly turned around to see Ryou, Bakura, Yami, Malik, and Mana. He waved again at Yami, making sure that Ryou saw him. All five of them waved at him and Yugi blushed in embarrassment at the unwanted attention as he slowly dropped his hand. He saw Yami shaking his head with a smirk on his face then went back to his phone.

Tristan and Joey saw the exchange and Joey wasn’t too happy about it.

“What? You wanna go sit with those guys?” Joey hissed.

Yugi snapped his head at Joey’s direction. “Ryou’s my friend too, Joey. Whatever beef you have with him is none of my business.” He retorted harshly.

“Whatever _problem_ I have with that punk _should_ be your business because I’m your _best friend_ not him.”

Joey’s clinginess and emotional blackmail wasn’t something Yugi wanted to deal with. He let out a deep sigh. “Joey, whether you like it or not, Ryou is my friend too. I’m being a good friend by not taking sides.” He was trying to be smart by not taking sides. He had no idea why Joey hated Ryou in the first place. Ryou can’t hurt a fly. Then again, Joey had a problem with goody goody people. He never understood why people are just too nice for their own good.

“Oh yeah? What about my _friends_ from Rintama High huh? I chose you over them, Yugi. Have you ever thought of that?” Joey snapped before thinking.

This time, Tristan butt in while Yugi felt like he just got slapped in the face and stabbed at the back at the same time. Tristan held onto Joey’s shoulder. “Joey,” Tristan warned. The topic of Hirutani and his gang was kinda taboo between the three of them. Even Tea doesn’t know what happened, and they were lucky enough that Yugi’s grandfather was at a dig. Short version was Joey left Hirutani’s gang when they decided that Yugi was their next torture target. Yugi was in the hospital during their whole summer because of the incident. Yugi, being Yugi, forgave Joey. Now they, along with Tristan, swore to never mention the incident ever again.

Yugi was honestly hurt with Joey’s words. He was beaten to a pulp by Hirutani and his gang. Tristan, with Joey in tow, came in just in time to get him out of the gang’s warehouse hideout. That point was how he knew he could trust Joey. That he was a real friend. And now, Joey was using that against Yugi. Way to stomp on their friendship.

Joey, realizing what he just side, suddenly changed in demeanor. One look at Yugi’s shocked hurt face, and the blond instantly reached out to the smaller teen. Yugi flinched at the contact and stood up.

“I’m sitting with Ryou so I don’t say something I’ll regret.” His eyes were glued to the ground as he spoke. “I hope you understand. I’m not choosing him over you guys. I don’t want us to fight because I said something I didn’t mean.” He turned around and made eye contact with Yami. He pleaded with his eyes as he walked up to where they were. He was also struggling with himself as he tried not to cry or lash out in public.

Seeing the rage and hurt in Yugi’s eyes, Yami struggled with asking Yugi what was wrong. He scooted away from Ryou to give Yugi space to sit between them. When Yugi took his seat he rested his fists on his lap. Yami could see the smaller teen’s knuckles were white and shaking.

“What’s wrong, Yugi?” Ryou asked softly.

Yugi huffed. “Nothing. Just Joey being stupid.” His voice was even and controlled. He put his focus on breathing in and breathing out.

Ryou nodded with Yugi’s answer. He knew Yugi enough to know not to pry.

Yami squeezed Yugi’s shoulder and smiled knowingly. He was already walking on thin ice again, it was better to let Yugi give him the go ahead to talk about it. He received a weak smile from Yugi before they drew their attention back to the center of the gym.

The assembly was pretty standard. The principal, Mrs. Joan Rivers, is a tall stern woman. Whenever she was at the podium, she always demanded full attention. Her black hair was tied up into a tight bun. People have theorized that her face was already in a permanent scowl due to her trying her best to keep her thick glasses to stay on her face. The stern principal announced some events such as the scheduled fire drill, annual medical check-ups, the school fair, semestral break, varsity games, and the like. During the whole ordeal, Yami would make side comments to make Yugi snicker or retort with a funnier comeback.

All the while, Yugi would glance at his original seat next to Tristan. Joey wouldn’t look at his direction but the blond had his head down and hands in fists on his knees. Yugi felt like the pillar that held his friendship with Joey was actually fake with the way Joey spoke to him. Was that really how Joey felt? Yugi wanted to give his friend the benefit of the doubt. He wanted to think that Joey didn’t exactly mean it. That the blond teen was just speaking out of anger. But did that mean that when Joey spoke without thinking meant that that was how he truly felt? That Yugi owed him for choosing him over Hirutani?

Beside the smaller tri-color haired teen, Yami would chance glances towards Yugi and Joey. Wondering what went down between the two best friends, he tried to remember what they looked like as they argued earlier. Yami wanted to ask if he was alright, if there was something he could do, if he wanted to talk about it. But he knew better than to overstep Yugi’s sacred boundaries. It was too risky to play along the borderline of what the smaller teen would allow. Thankfully, Yugi was giving him more room to work with. Yugi deciding to sit with them during the assembly was an obvious green light that it was okay for them to be together in public like this.

Once the principal was done with her speech, she gave the floor to Tea for other announcements.

“Hey, guys!” she greeted the audience with her sugary sweet voice. “We would like to announce that the student council, with the help of the school newspaper and publication team and Mr. Riviera, will officially launch the new school website!” Once Tea started clapping, some of the students followed suit and it triggered the obligatory applause from the rest of the audience. Tea spoke again when the applause died down. “The new website will not only contain school announcements and news, but also a message board that everyone can use. Plus, you get to join us, the student council, in our meetings through the SC Portal. The portal will serve as the official blog for the members of the council that you guys get to read. This is our way of getting close to you guys.”

Unbeknownst to Tea, she got a load of eyerolls from this.

“We get to read blog entries from the student council? Isn’t their constant nagging not enough?” Bakura said in annoyance.

Yugi had to chuckle. Tea had always wanted to be a blogger. No matter how many times she would post on her Facebook or Instagram, she doesn’t get that much of a following. She created a dancing blog on her Instagram, but it didn’t catch on. Looks like she’s using the school website as a way for her to gain a following in school. “A blog for every person in the student council? It’s like they’re setting themselves up for possible humiliation.” He shook his head in disbelief.

“You could’ve stopped her from going ahead with this, you know,” Ryou snickered.

Yugi scoffed. “She doesn’t tell me about these things.”

“Why not?”

Yugi shrugged. “Maybe she thinks we wouldn’t care or she’s scared of our own opinion,” he said as a joke.

Tea joined the student council to make up for her C range grades for when she applies for dance school in New York. She wanted to get a scholarship, but the brunette knew she wasn’t getting any scholarship with her grades alone. For some reason, Tea thought that if her dance blog on her Instagram account gained a strong following, she could get any college to just beg her to go to their school. Her male friends already told her to just do her best in her grades and in dancing and she’ll get the scholarship no problem, but Tea liked shortcuts if she knew they were possible. She said that it would sound more amazing and unbelievable when they eventually write her road to stardom. Yugi was willing to even help Tea with her studies but she had lazy tendencies and he ends up just doing her homework for her that he already gave up study sessions with the brunette.

Amethyst eyes wandered over to his taller look alike. Yami was a great study buddy. He was willing to argue with Yugi in smart conversations and Yugi felt like he had a challenge with Yami. He hadn’t had an engaging conversation in a long time until Yami. He leaned his head on the taller teen, almost an automatic reaction for him now, for a fraction of a second before he realized what he was about to do. He blinked rapidly. _Damn._ Almost slipped right there. He heard a soft deep chuckle beside him and he turned to the teen to scowl at him.

“Getting sleepy?” Yami teased. In reality, his body froze at the unexpected action. Was he breaking through Yugi’s walls? Yami scoffed at that. Yugi doesn’t only have a wall. Instead, he had a wall similar to the boundary between North and South Korea, complete with armed sentries posted every fifty feet. He just passed the first checkpoint...or maybe two seeing as the smaller teen willingly sat with him today.

“Yeah. This is so boring,” he groaned.

“You wanna sit with us for lunch?” Ryou beamed at Yugi. And right there, Yami has decided that the gods gave him Ryou as a gift, an angel, to help him with Yugi.

The smaller teen gave a weak smile, “Thanks but no thanks, Ryou. I don’t want give Joey anymore ammo to use against me. He already thinks I’m siding with you instead of him.”

“That’s mighty clingy of him,” Bakura scoffed.

Yugi just shrugged and gave a “what are you gonna do” face. He really hated dealing with Joey when he was being irrational like now. But thankfully, most of the time and with the help from Tristan, Joey would see the error of his ways and he would apologize or drop the subject. Aside from the below the belt teasing, Joey’s temper was borderline unbearable for Yugi, but he always thought that his friendship with the blond overweigh those.

“Now, regarding the school fair!” Tea gushed excitedly. Groans from the audience could be heard while there were some cheering as well. Tea just smirked and snickered at the groans. “Alright… Due to the mishaps experienced last year,” she started which piqued the audience's interest, some people set the gazes on Yami’s cousins who were smirking proudly. “The council has decided that classes won’t be required to set up a booth, but if there are students who are willing to team up and set up one for the fair, they are free to do so, with our approval of course.”

That announcement received sighs of relief. Last year was absolute disaster thanks to Bakura and Marik. The duo, with Yami’s help, was able to spike the soda machine with three bottles of tequila. Of course, no one knew except for the three cousins, but because of the spiked sodas, it created a chain reaction of chaos in the fair. And Principal Rivers wasn’t happy with how seniors would bully the underclassmen into surrendering the better booth areas. One particular incident almost led to a lawsuit that she didn’t want to deal with again.

Once the assembly was done, the seniors were instructed to go back to their classrooms for third period. Ryou was at Yugi’s side talking about class while Yami walked behind the two with his cousins. There was a buzz as the students left the gymnasium. Yugi walked fast to avoid crossing paths with Joey, or even Tea. God knows that girl will stop them on their tracks when she sees him in close proximity to Yami. He didn’t want to see his friends right now. He needed to think…

But was it really right to follow through with his train of thought?

Yugi wanted to defend his own friend from himself. Making excuses...But are they valid excuses? They knew the whole Hirutani gang incident was the fault of neither of them. He was a bit unsure with Joey’s friendship back then because the blond used to be one of his bullies. A quick change of heart seemed too...convenient. Yugi wasn’t quick to trust Joey then, and the blond understood his hesitation. Then the whole Hirutani incident happened. Joey left the gang and fought them tooth and nail to save Yugi’s life. That was the moment that Yugi realized he could trust Joey’s friendship. That he could depend on the blond and know that his intentions were genuine.

Joey never hated Yugi for it. He said that he never regretted leaving the gang because he found better friends with him, Tristan, and Tea. Was choosing them over Hirutani that big of a deal for Joey that he compared it with Yugi “choosing” Ryou over him?

Third period was just English class and it held no interest for him at the moment. He was in deep thought. He had no idea if he should feel hurt, angry, or both. If Joey was mad at him for “choosing” Ryou, he can’t imagine how the blond would react about his relationship with Yami. He was pretty sure that Joey would be beside himself, and he would have extra ammo against him. This was frustrating for Yugi. Sure his nightmare yesterday didn’t happen, but something worse did. Yugi realized that he could take Tea’s tongue lashing. She could tell him that he did it as revenge for her rejection, but he knew better. He knew that he did it because he was attracted to Yami. Their relationship had nothing to do with her, as much as she would love to think that.

Before he knew it, it was lunch time now and Yugi wasn’t ready to deal with Joey just yet. His mind was an emotional mess at the moment and he just wanted to go into autopilot today at lunch.

He didn’t want to deal with Joey.

He didn’t want to deal with Tea.

Hell, he didn’t want to deal with school life in general right now.

As he stepped out of the classroom, he looked at Yami with a smile and wave. God, wouldn’t it be nice to just accept their offer and join them for lunch? He sighed then exited the classroom. To buy him some time, he went to the bathroom to think. Yugi decided that he regretted this decision because in came Ushio, his towering form blocking his only exit.

“Well looky here,” he said with a smirk. “Isn’t this perfect? Your little friends aren’t here to protect you this time. No teachers too.”

Yugi wanted to roll his eyes. He wasn’t an invalid. He could take Ushio on, but the problem was the bully wasn’t going to take any chances this time. The big oaf knew that the only way he was going to overpower Yugi was to have the advantage of a surprise attack. Ushio lunged at Yugi to land a solid punch at his jaw sending the smaller teen to the floor. Blinking multiple times to collect his footing, Yugi scrambled to get up and get enough distance between him and Ushio. Alright, it was time to prove himself...sorta.

“What the fuck is your problem?” the smaller teen hissed, obviously annoyed that he was yet again another target of the big bully. He knew how to fight, but right now he was at a disadvantage as the instant he finished talking, Ushio was charging at him again.

“You’re just so easy to pummel into a pulp. I’m surprised no one as fucked you into oblivion yet.” He pushed Yugi towards a bathroom stall door.

Yugi’s head collided with door first, and as it swung open, the loud blunt bang when his head hit the edge of the toilet bowl echoed in the small bathroom, the impact stunning him for a moment. He tried to get on his feet but failed since his head felt a hundred times heavier. As he tried to get up again, Ushio suddenly disappeared from his view. He blinked a few times trying to regain consciousness but the embrace of darkness was just so comforting compared to the drama he was going through today. He could faintly hear a deep voice calling his name, his body shaking. Was he convulsing? Surely Ushio didn’t hit him that hard right? Finally surrendering himself to the darkness, the last thing he felt was warmth surrounding him.

 

* * *

 

To say that Seto was beyond amused was an understatement. In the four years that Yami had been enrolled in Domino High, the brunet CEO has yet to be called to pick his cousin up. Seto was Yami’s legal guardian while his father was still in Egypt completing his doctorate, that meant he was the first to be called when Yami gets suspended, which was never...until now.

As he exited the principal’s office he saw his cousin sitting on the bench waiting for him. “This is such an eventful day,” he commented with a smirk. “You must be so proud of yourself.”

Yami rolled his eyes. “You must be enjoying this too much.” He buried his hands in his pockets and started walking towards his locker to collect his bag. “Are you telling my dad about this?”

Seto scoffed, “It’s not my business to tell uncle about this. That’s _your_ job.” They got into the limo and the driver was instructed to go to Kaiba Corp Research Facility.

“You’re not dropping me home?” Yami inquired.

“I’m taking advantage of the situation,” he answered. “I need a guinea pig for the new DuelBot we’re developing.”

“You know, I always imagine that one day your calculations will be off and your little lab experiments will bring me to the hospital,” he teased.

“You know,” Seto started matching Yami’s tone, “you can always say no. And you’ve yet to say no to these things.” His phone buzzed and he scowled at the number. “What?” There was a pause before he barked his orders. “Schedule a meeting then!” he gritted his teeth. Yami was used to this side of Seto. The brunet is known for his cold-hearted exterior when it came to business. His business ethics immaculate. “What do you mean the CEO is not in America? I need that meeting set as soon as possible,” he basically roared into the phone. He pinched the bridge of his nose and concentrated on his breathing. He was firing someone when he comes back to the office, that much was certain to Yami. “ _Two months?_ Fine! Just schedule me that meeting and make sure the CEO blocks the whole day for me. Then arrange our calendar around that date and set the new deadline. Tell RnD that I need to talk to them and call HR to collect a new set of resumes. No, don’t look for her. I don’t want wasting resources finding someone who doesn’t want to be found. Just make sure I get that meeting.” He hung up the phone and rubbed his forehead. “This day just got better,” he sneered sarcastically. He peered over his cousin who was busy on his phone. “What are you doing?”

Yami didn’t look up from his phone but replied. “Checking up on Yugi. The nurse said he might have a concussion from the impact on the toilet. He’s awake now and off to the hospital to have a real doctor check him. I just got a message from him that his grandfather picked him up.”

The brunet shook his head disapprovingly. “He’s the reason why you got suspended. You can tell that he’s a bad influence on you, Yami.”

The crimson-eyed teen sighed deeply. “Why is this such a big thorn on your side, Seto? I _like_ him, okay? I’ll admit it to you, to myself, to Bakura and Marik. Hell, I’ll admit it to my dad during his next phone call if I have to. I don’t care if you guys don’t approve. I _like_ him and nothing and no one is going to change my mind about this soon.”

Seto rolled his eyes. Yami was just as stubborn as him. “I’m your friend and cousin. You can’t blame me if I’m this concerned about you.”

“I appreciate the concern, Seto. Truly, I am. But I know that I’m in this unrequited... _thing_ right now, and I’m aware that it will possibly lead to disappointment,” he looked at his cousin with a soft smile, showing his eldest cousin that he was indeed grateful for his concern. “But I would prefer you didn’t discourage me on this. Bakura and Marik are being supportive. I’m not asking you to do the same, but the least you could do is not tell me that I’m making a mistake. Should I make a mistake about this, then I’ll accept it.”

Seto raised a delicate eyebrow at his cousin but conceded. They may be rivals on most occasions, but they were cousins and friends first. “Fine. In addition, I’ll control the urge to tell you ‘I told you so’ if this all went to shit.”

Yami chuckled. “Gee, thanks.” It was always like this with Seto. They would have an argument and none of them would apologize. They will only agree to disagree. It was easier that way, plus it hurt neither of their prides to do so. People think that the great Seto Kaiba was arrogant...he was, but only to people he deemed unworthy of his respect. Respect that he rarely gave.

Once they got to the research facility, Yami received another update from Yugi.

**‘Just got back from the hospital. I’m okay. Ryou’s sending us his notes on the classes we’ll definitely miss. I just got a call from my sister. She says thanks for saving my life. And I’m thanking you again for it too. You didn’t have to but you did. So thanks Yami’**

Yami sighed in relief. His blood ran cold when he saw Yugi pass out from the hit. He had just charged at Ushio and punched him at his temple to keep him down so he could tend to Yugi. He tried to wake the smaller teen but to no avail. He was already getting ready to carry Yugi to the infirmary when a teacher stopped him. He was told to bring Yugi to the nurse’s office and go straight to the principal’s office afterwards. According to the nurse, Yugi has a concussion and him being unconscious is not going to help him, but they couldn’t wake him at that moment. When he went to the principal’s office, he was already expecting an epic tongue lashing from Mrs. Rivers. It wasn’t too bad, just the generic scolding he had expected, plus the bonus of being told how disappointed she was to suspend one of her “top students”.

**‘Glad to hear you’re okay. Great way to be back at school huh?’**

**‘Ushio is just a fucking asshole. I could take him on no problem if he didn’t catch me off guard.’**

One thing Yami noticed was that when Yugi was comfortable talking to someone, he’s comfortable enough to be crass. For some odd reason, his very meek and timid personality was a front for everyone to see.

**‘I can imagine you taking him down. I did the same thing earlier and we’re not that different body mass-wise.’**

**‘Is that your passive aggressive way of telling me I’m small? Just got home. I’m taking a nap. How about you? I heard you got suspended. Sorry about that.’**

**‘I’m serving as Seto’s lab rat today. It’s no big deal, Yugi.’**

**‘Thanks again, Yami. See you tomorrow.’**

Yami couldn’t help but have a goofy smile on his face. Yugi is allowing them to talk outside their nightly bedroom fun. One of the major rules was that they had to memorize each other’s numbers and send a short message to know that their Friday nights were a go or not. They were not allowed to save each other’s numbers to avoid suspicion, and text messages must be deleted immediately. It was Yami who actually made this rule. His cousins liked to snoop and for some reason, Bakura was so good at cracking his passcode no matter how many times he changed it. And Bakura claims that he doesn’t know how to hack phones.

Them talking like real actual friends was a nice change of pace for Yami. He was learning more about the amethyst-eyed boy that intrigued him the first day he laid eyes on him. He had started calling Yugi his “study buddy”. It was the safest thing he could call the smaller teen but it didn’t exactly cover their whole relationship. He doesn’t even have another study buddy, he only had Yugi.

Yami was brought out of his thoughts when Seto practically shoved him out of the elevator. “Come on, loverboy, you need to start working.” His cousin stepped out of the elevator and Yami could feel the people in the office in the other room shuffle into position. It was always quite a sight seeing Kaiba’s scientists shuffle like soldiers in the presence of their general when Kaiba is in the building.

The two cousins entered the main building and they were instantly approached by one of Seto’s chief researchers.

“Mr. Kaiba, I’m very sorry about this,” the man grovelled.  His gray hair was in a disarray, there were bags under his eyes and his hands were trembling as he held a blue folder.

Someone’s in trouble. This was always very amusing to watch, in Yami’s opinion. He did feel pity for the poor guy though. Yami saw how the guy was shifting his eyes, obviously doing his best to not make eye contact with the fiery icey-blue glare that came from Seto. Seto was gifted with the tall stature and, what Marik had called, the RBF or Resting Bitch Face which their eldest cousin has used to their full advantage. Add his very commanding voice and temperamental attitude and he made the most cold-hearted CEO known in history.

Seto didn’t flinch. He only closed his eyes, a sign that he was trying his best not to let his annoyance and frustration get the better of him, then spoke softly at his cousin. “Yami, you know where the testing arena is right? Go on ahead while I deal with this moron.”

The tricolor-haired teen didn’t need to be told twice. He walked up to his similar route leading to the testing arena where he usually was when Seto needed him for his experiments. Yami entered the lounge but not before he heard Seto bark his insults at his poor victim.

“I gave you _ONE JOB_ . And now _I_ have to clean up _your_ mess! And not only that, we have to _push back_ launching because of _your_ mistake!”

Yami could hear the mumblings of the poor man who was the target of Seto’s rage.

“Do you know how you got your job?” The brunet CEO seethed. “The person who previously had it made the same mistake you just did.”

Once inside, Yami whistled at the lounge. There was a blue sofa at the corner with a mahogany coffee table and TV at the left side of the room. Usually, Yami was there lying down napping when Seto would make his multiple adjustments on the new system he was testing. Now, a pinball machine and two different gaming consoles were added to that part of the room. Looks like Mokuba hangs out in this room too. At the right side of the room there was a big two-door fridge and a vending machine full of chips and treats that were, possibly, hand-picked by Mokuba. There was also a bar, sink, microwave and other stuff for a mini dining room set in the room. The room was different compared to the last time he was here. There was only the couch, TV, a water cooler and the vending machine.

Yami passed through the lounge and opened the door that was next to the pinball machine. The room was white and there were at most ten people inside working. It was like time stopped when he entered the testing room. The people looked at Yami then went back to their work. Unlike the green lounge room, the testing lab was a mixture of white and light grey. There was a big window showing the arena itself where there were a couple of people working on some prototype, must be the new DuelBot Seto was talking about. There were different computers and monitors. There was one monitor that took Yami’s attention. He walked over to one monitor showing his picture.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

The girl jumped at his unusually deep voice. She turned to him then sighed. “We’re taking note of your stats and readying the DuelBot.”

“You have my dueling stats?” It wasn’t unusual for him that Seto had his dueling stats, he’d already suspected it anyways. But it was still weird to actually see what it looked like. “What are other information do you have on me?”

“Well… There’s the list of cards that you’ve used in duels, your current win-lose stats, dueling history and your rank.” The woman showed a blip of everything she was saying. “We have a lot of people registered here, not just you,” she supplied when Yami raised his eyebrow at the multiple dueling information he was shown.

“Really? Can I ask you to look up someone for me then?” he asked carefully.

“I can. But they should have been in tournaments and used a duel disk before,” she replied opening up the search function.

“I’m pretty sure he has. Can you please check for Yugi Mutou please?” Yami pulled up an empty chair and looked at the monitor. Once the woman beside him entered the name, there was one match. She opened it and a photo of Yugi appeared. He tried to take over of the computer. “Could I take a quick look?”

The woman was unsure but nodded nonetheless. She knew Yami was Seto’s cousin and she hoped that when her boss sees her not working because he was taking over her computer, she wouldn’t be in _that_ much trouble.

Yami already ignored the woman and started looking at Yugi’s dueling stats.

 

**Duelist’s Name:** Yugi Mutou  
**Age:** 18  
**Birthday:** June 16th  
**Country:** Japan  
**Rank:** S-LA1  
**Duelist Type:** Local Amateur  
**Duelist Grade:** Superior  
**Duelist Standing:** 1  
**Win-Lose:** 41-0  
**Last Tournament:** Domino City Charity Tournament  
**Place in Last Tournament:** Champion  
**Last Opponent:** Ryou Bakura (Rank: E-LA4)

 

So Yugi has yet to lose in a duel? Interesting. Yami couldn’t help but smirk. He was tempted to make a quick browse of the registered cards that Yugi has used in a duel but decided not to. If he was going to duel Yugi, he didn’t want to have an unfair advantage. He did make a mental note on checking Ryou out next time. He looked at the list of tournaments Yugi has participated in and pursed his lips. Yugi has yet to lose in a duel but he only participates in local tournament. Why? He could be a semi-professional like him with his stats. He could bring that up next time they talked.

“Are you quite done using my resources to stalk your crush?” the cold voice of Seto asked.

Yami turned to his cousin with a guilty smile, “I got curious when I saw a picture of myself on one of your employees’ monitor.”

“Narcissist.” Seto rolled his eyes.

“Whatever. Come on, set me up for your lab experiments.” He gave the control back to the woman and thanked her. He was led out the similar silver double doors to the testing arena where he was suited up with a duel disk so they could start a round with the DuelBot.

With a smirk he drew his first five cards. “Time to duel,” he muttered.

 

* * *

 

The next day was pretty normal. Joey had apologized before the day started and Yugi accepted it without the blond having to fight for it. To Yugi, it was pointless to accept Joey’s apology, he knew his best friend will react immaturely again, he needed to at least enjoy some form of peace before Joey had another episode. It was a cycle that he had learned to get used to. Thankfully, the issue was resolved before Tea got a whiff of things. With her tendencies to overreact, they couldn’t risk her knowing about it and “accidentally” announcing it to the whole student body.

Yugi could already imagine how Tea was going to react if she knew what happened that summer. She would shriek and scold at Joey. Then they would fight and make a commotion, grabbing the attention of the whole school then everyone will know what happened. Man, it’s like that time with his parents all over again. Except he’ll receive a few tongue lashing as well.

_“Yugi! How could you not tell me? I’m your best friend!”_

_“Doesn’t our friendship mean anything to you?”_

_“Don’t you trust me? Because I trusted you with all my secrets. How could you not tell me this secret?”_

_“I thought you valued our friendship?”_

And then there was his personal favorite.

_“I thought we had a strong bond of friendship, Yugi? It’s a bond that can never be broken. Have you forgotten about that?”_

Oh yeah, friendship-themed tongue lashing was Tea’s specialty. She could write a book and teach a course for it. Yugi had to bite his cheek to stop himself from bursting out in laughter in the middle of class. He could actually picture Tea in a college classroom talking at the podium teaching Guilt-Tripping Your Friends 101. The image of Tea sitting in a bookstore waiting for her book fans was also in his mind. Remembering Joey’s episodes of immaturity, Yugi realized that Joey could actually co-author a book with Tea entitled How to Get What You Want Through Emotional Blackmail. Yeah, that would be a better and more realistic way of picturing it.

His eyes drifted over the empty chair on the other side of the classroom. Yami was absent for today. And the next few days due to an accident during a test duel at Kaiba Corp. The message he received last night and the conversation he had with the grunting teen over the phone had at least made him smile.

**‘In the hospital. Kaiba’s stupid prototype is to blame. Doc says I can come back to school next week. I have pain meds to drink though.’**

The message worried him. Apparently, the safeties were removed from the SolidVision holograms, a new and improved version of the current one that made the attacks of the monsters _feel_ real, and when Yami attacked using the Winged Dragon of Ra, it affected not only the DuelBot, but him as well. Yami won the duel, but the effects of Ra’s attack overheated the testing arena and he was stuck at the crossfire. And now, Yugi has offered to bring Yami the notes and homework for the day. At first, Yugi was a little hesitant to offer, but he figured it was his way of paying the teen back for doing the same when he was sick. But how was he going to do that?

“Hey, Yugi, you wanna go to lunch at the rooftop today?” Ryou offered. “Marik and Bakura want to convince Mana that eating up there won’t result to her impending death.”

He considered Ryou’s offer before declining. He needed to tend to a very clingy Joey first. “It’s cool, Ryou. Joey’s being…”

“Difficult?” Ryou supplied jokingly. He saw his friend scoff and roll his eyes before smiling. “It’s alright, Yugi. I understand. I have Bakura and Marik for company anyways, if Mana decides that she’d prefer to be by the doorway that is. They’re very nice. Of course, Mana is a whole new league when it comes to friendliness.”

Yugi let out a soft chuckle. He met Mana during their first year in high school. Tea dragged him into watching the volleyball team practise every after school. Now that he thought of it, it was around this time that he started having his slight attraction to Tea. But one day at practise, Tea had to run to her locker to get her water bottle, and Yugi was left with the rest of the team. Mana spotted him and introduced herself. The green-eyed brunette was so bubbly that he was taken aback by it. It freaked him out how incredibly friendly the girl was and how much energy was stored in such a petite frame, not to mention the strength of her spikes and how the vibrations rang his ears whenever she would deliver her spikes. She was one of the shortest members in the team and yet she was the one who had the strongest spikes and jumped the highest. She was also quite the chatterbox during their water break. She easily grabbed Yugi's attention, which he discovered, didn't sit well with Tea, since after practise, his best friend practically dragged him away from Mana.

"I've met her before back in freshman year. I used to watch the volleyball team practice since Tea and I used to go home together."

Ryou beamed. "That must've been such a weird experience for you back then huh? I know when I met her, I wasn’t prepared.” Ryou giggled softly while warily looking at the substitute teacher. They may have been given free time, but the substitute was known to be a tattle tale so the class just stayed in their seats and talked in whispered voices. “You have fun at lunch alright?”

Yugi nodded and the bell signaling lunch time finally rang. Outside, Joey, Tristan, and Tea were already waiting for him. Raising an eyebrow, Yugi joined them towards the direction of the cafeteria. “What’s so special today?” He finally asked.

Tea was the one who answered. “Well, it feels like we haven’t seen you in a long time, Yugi.” That’s what her words sounded like but Yugi knew better. Since Ushio had the greatest opportunity of catching him alone after class. They were making sure he was well-protected even as he exits the classroom. Yugi couldn’t help but sigh in defeat. He was pretty sure it was Tea’s idea. Speaking of his overly-protective best friend, her eyes wandered towards the doorway of Yugi’s classroom, searching. “Yami didn’t come to class today?” she asked carefully. There was a faint scoff, most likely from Joey, but the brunette ignored this.

Almost slipping that Yami was in the hospital, Yugi stopped himself and just shrugged. He turned and bumped into another brunette. It was Mana.

“Oops!” the green-eyed brunette chirped. “Sorry about that, Yugi.” She patted on Yugi’s arms and giggled. “I wasn’t looking where I was going. Are you okay? Did I hurt you?” Her hands suddenly fussed over Yugi’s petite frame. Her eyes were twinkling with concern, then changed to amusement and a bit of annoyance when she saw Tea. “Hey, Tea,” she greeted with an overly sugary sweet voice that instead of annoying Yugi, it made him chuckle, mostly because of the shocked faces from his three best friends.

“I’m alright, Mana. No worries,” he smiled sweetly at the green-eyed brunette and lightly held her shoulder. “No blood see?” he joked as he presented himself at Mana who giggled.

“Alright,” she nodded. Her eyes drifted to another direction then she squealed. “Hey, Ryou!” she waved. She turned to Yugi again, her hand on his arm, “I’m sorry again, Yugi. I have to go, bye!” she chirped then gave a quick goodbye to Tea before bouncing to Ryou’s side.

“Hey, Yug, looks like you got a little admirer over there,” Tristan joked as he wrapped an arm around Yugi. “Did you see the way she looked at you, man?”

Yugi blushed and stuttered, “Uh… I-I d-didn’t notice.” He hung his head as they walked towards the cafeteria.

Joey snickered, “Aww, come on, Yug. She was all over you! You should ask her out!” He elbowed his best friend lightly on the ribs as they fell in line to buy food. “You should seriously start dating, Yugi. Even Tristan and I got around to dating girls. Granted, those never went anywhere, but it’s part of the whole high school experience you know?”

“Dating for experience?” Yugi asked raising an eyebrow at the blond. “No thanks. Besides, I’m not the romance type of guy.”

He heard Tea scoff. “And you expect girls to like you?” she sneered then winked at him. “Maybe you should reconsider your statement, Yugi. Girls like to be wooed with flowers and sweets and romance.”

After paying for his food, Yugi laughed lightly at Tea’s statement. “Sounds like a lot of work, honestly, Tea.” He started to walk towards their usual table. Once all four of them were seated, he spoke again. “Romance is just not my thing. I don’t really see the appeal with spoiling a girl who may or may not feel the same for me.”

“Well, yeah. But there’s something special about a guy who takes the extra effort to make the girl like him,” she gushed as she looked at the empty table where Yami and his friends were supposed to sit.

Yugi rolled his eyes. “Why bother make the effort when you know that no matter how much effort you do, the girl won’t notice it if you’re not her type?” he asked a little too loudly which made the other males freeze in their place. They knew all too well the effort Yugi did to get closer to Tea while the girl only wrote it off as him being a good friend. He took dance classes, helped her run for student body president, did her homework, tutored her so she could have the grade requirement to stay in the volleyball team and student council. He may not have been a romantic, but he did make great efforts to winning her affections. And they all went down the drain. What his friends didn’t know was that he already gave up on her a long time ago. Like a year ago. He never really confirmed to Joey and Tristan whenever they asked if he still had a crush on Tea. He really couldn’t give much of a fuck about it anymore.

The blue-eyed brunette had seemingly ignored Yugi and began searching the cafeteria again. Joey and Tristan sighed. She was looking for Yami again. They looked at Yugi with pity. They felt sorry that Yugi was being ignored by the girl he knew for almost his whole life for someone who just arrived a few years ago. They may have experienced rejection, but not the same degree they knew Yugi went through.

Meanwhile, Yugi could feel the look of pity from his two friends. He did his best not to roll his eyes. One thing he hated was being pitied. He already had enough of that to last five lifetimes, he didn’t need any more. At first, he liked the company of his friends. They comforted him when people would look at him with pity or when the bullies thought that it was funny that his parents were divorced while they beat him black and blue. But seeing different versions of the pity look, Yugi realized that his friends also pitied him.

Tristan cleared his throat. “So, Yugi. Mana. She’s pretty cute huh? You should ask her to prom. Or if that’s too far away, why not ask her to the school festival?”

Joey slapped his hand on the table to catch the attention of everyone on the table. “That’s brilliant! You should ask her to the school festival. You can impress her by winning some of the games. You’re pretty good with them right? I bet she’ll go crazy with your skills!” The gears in his head suddenly started to turn as he began plotting. One way or another, Yugi was going to get a girl before graduation.

This time, it was Tea who gave her opinion. “You know, Yugi, I don’t think Mana is the right girl for you. She’s too...perky,” she said the last word with such distaste that her face had to wince. “You need a girl who is more mature, has goals in life, and has the same taste you have. I know Mana. I don’t think you guys would work, you know. She’s weird.”

Exasperated, Yugi sighed deeply. “So what if she’s weird? Maybe I like girls that are weird. You don’t know what my taste in girls are, Tea.”

“Yeah, Tea. And besides, Mana is cute, she’s obviously interested in Yugi, and I’m in the same class as her. She’s actually nice,” Joey countered.

“Wow, Joey. That’s a lot to say about someone who’s a friend of Yami Sennen,” Tea argued.

Joey rolled his eyes. “I’m mad at Yami not his friends. I’m not _that_ immature.” He chuckled and with that, the rest of the table burst out laughing.

Once the laughter died down, Tea fanned herself with her hand as she recovered from their fits of laughter. “Okay, okay, boys. If you guys are planning on courting girls. You need to learn from an actual female about how they want to be courted.”

“Great idea, Tea. You know any actual females we can ask?” Tristan asked with a chuckle.

The girl flung a pineapple from her fruit salad at Tristan. “First of all, listen carefully to the girl. She doesn’t appreciate it when you’re blatantly not listening to her.”

“Sheesh, Tea. Can’t even take a joke,” Tristan rolled his eyes but smirking.

Tea ignored Tristan’s statement. “How many second dates did you guys get?” She raised an eyebrow, challenging her two friends.

“Okay, point taken. But there are different types of girls with different types of interests. How can you help us with that?” Tristan asked.

“Well for one, _listen_ to what the girl likes,” Tea started.

“Uh huh, yeah right. Meanwhile, girls expect us to be mind readers and know _exactly_ what they like,” Joey interjected.

“Yes! Thank you!” Tristan exclaimed.

Tea rolled her eyes while Yugi chuckled. Tea started listing down things guys should do to impress or make a girl happy to which Tristan and Joey would make side comments, while Yugi just nodded along and chuckled. After a couple more minutes, the bell signalling the end of lunch rang. The remaining students who were still at the cafeteria started to scramble to get back to class. After busting their trays, Yugi and his friends started walking up the third floor where the senior classrooms were. Even though Joey and Tristan’s classroom was the first they passed, the two insisted on dropping Yugi at the classroom at the end of the hall. They weren’t going to risk Yugi crossing paths with Ushio or his cronies again.

Once Yugi got to his classroom, he immediately spotted Ryou who had a bright smile on his face. “Hey, Ryou, you had a good lunch?” he asked as he took his seat.

Ryou nodded enthusiastically. “Lunch was fun. And you?”

“Apparently, I’m taking a class on how to court girls with Joey and Tristan, and Tea’s our instructor.”

The white-haired teen giggled. “Wow. That’s nice…?”

Yugi shook his head and chuckled, “I’m humoring Tea, to be honest. I mean… Romance is just not my thing.” He blanked out for a second before he was brought back by his phone vibrating on his leg. It was Yami.

**‘Had a good lunch? I didn’t. Take note, hospital mac and cheese taste like mashed potatoes.’**

The text suddenly reminded him of what he was thinking earlier. “Oh, Ryou, by the way. Did Bakura and Marik mention something about visiting Yami at the hospital today?”

Ryou tilted his head at the side in confusion. “How did you know that Yami’s in the hospital?”

He froze in his seat for a moment before recovering. “Umm… He’s my partner in the computer project and we see each other every other day to work on it. He told me that we couldn’t this Friday because he was in the hospital.” He let out a sigh of relief that was ignored by his friend.

“Oh. Well, Bakura and Marik said they were going to visit him today after school and tomorrow. Why do you ask?”

“I told him that I’d give him his homework for today and tomorrow.”

“Wow. That’s nice of you, Yugi. I can pass them to Bakura if you want. Or would you rather give them to Yami personally?”

“I’ll just give them to you, Ryou. I have to go home early today and tomorrow anyways.”

The white-haired teen nodded and after a few minutes, the teacher finally arrived starting the class. Yugi was able to collect all of the homework given for the day and handed it to Ryou to hand it to Bakura and finally give it to Yami on their hospital visit. Joey, Tristan, and Tea were waiting for him outside his classroom when the final bell rang and they all walked him home. During the walk home, Yugi was nervous that they might encounter his sister, but when he spotted the absence of the monstrous Jeep parked at the game shop, he let out a sigh of relief. Just another thing to worry about, explaining his life to his friends and get constantly asked about it until the topic will eventually float to something about his parents. He was thankful that Yami never really questioned Kisara’s presence. He always waited until Yugi said something instead of pushing the topic.

Despite the secrecy and the sometimes rocky roads their friendship has taken, it was still nice to have the smooth and happy moments they had together. Lounging at the living room playing video games with Joey while Tristan teases the blond and Tea cheering the players on and surprising them as well when she gets the hang of a new game. Joey making lewd jokes and Tea scolding him for being “improper” while Yugi and Tristan just laugh along. It was nice and normal. Yugi couldn’t help but feel guilty somewhat for actually reconsidering his friendship with Joey.

He glanced over to Tea and wished that maybe he could like her again. Have that crush on her again or maybe be the supportive friend and help her win Yami’s heart. Another wave of guilt hit Yugi in the face when he realized that he’d already betrayed her for sleeping around with Yami. But as fast as the guilt came did it disappear. Yami didn’t belong to her and the crimson-eyed teen came onto him not the other way around. Sure, he was the one who opened his legs and kissed back, but not once did he ever feel that what they were doing was wrong.

Yugi’s grandfather finally got up to the house part of the building which was a signal for Yugi’s friends to get home. Once they were gone, Yugi and Solomon started fixing up for dinner.

“So, you haven’t told them about Kisara yet huh?” Solomon casually asked as he stirred the pot of curry. Yugi bowed his head as he continued on with washing the dishes. Then his grandfather chuckled. “Don’t worry, Yugi. I don’t want to tell people about her just yet. Not until we get to talk to your parents about it.”

With that, Yugi almost let go of the knife he was holding. He turned to his grandfather, his eyes like a deer in headlights. “What?”

Solomon turned the stove off and looked at his grandson. “I know you don’t want to see them right now. I don’t either. I’m still mad at them for the stupid decisions they’ve made when it came to their children. Once I can actually be mature enough and call your parents for a talk, we’ll talk. But…” he paused and turned off the faucet that his grandson left open. After sighing he spoke again, “They won’t agree to see me unless I bring you along. You’re the only reason they even send Christmas presents in the first place. If you want, we can have Mara and a lawyer with us during the talk, but the least I want is you, both of your parents and Kisara with me in that talk.”

Yugi had seemingly lost his voice so he simply nodded.

“I see how close you and Kisara have become. Maybe when the both of you are ready and have her as your rock and you as hers, then maybe you guys can be strong enough to finally face your parents. You may not know this, but Kisara told me that he went to see your mother back in the day.”

Yugi wiped his soapy hands and left the dirty dishes on the sink. “What?” Kisara never told him this. Then again, something like this wasn’t something they both wanted to talk about. Even he only discussed his parents with his grandpa and his grandpa alone.

Solomon motioned for his grandson to take a seat at the dining table. “We talked one night. You know that girl has a problem with sleeping at night.” The old man shook his head and chuckled at the memory. “Anyways, I saw how she cried as she talked to her adoptive fathers. Apparently, those two have been helping her cope with the fact that her real parents didn’t even want her even after getting married, and until now she’s still coping. I let her talk with her fathers and when she said good bye, I made my presence known to her. I told her, carefully, that I was eavesdropping.”

“She doesn’t like that you know,” Yugi interrupted. Kisara was a very secretive person. Always had her bedroom door locked and answered in vague statements.

Plum eyes glittered in amusement and content knowing that his grandchildren, despite being separated for years and only knowing each other now, were slowly getting to know each other and growing close as well. “Well she didn’t mind then. She told me how she went to your mother in their summer house in Italy and how they basically slammed the door to her face by your grandmother.” Solomon frowned as he remembered the crestfallen face of his granddaughter. “I know that an orphan only has one wish, and that is to see their parents again. I can’t even imagine how that type of rejection would do to a child, even if she was eighteen that time.” He sighed deeply and did his best to suppress his tears. His granddaughter didn’t deserve this. “That’s why we’ll take this slow, the three of us. I’ve yet to tell her about my plan, but I want you to know about it first to maybe help me ease the idea to her. Can you do that?”

Yugi nodded with a small smile. Maybe this was his way of getting over the whole divorce thing too.

As if on cue, the rumble of Kisara’s Jeep could be heard outside. Dinner time. She was always back during dinner time.

 

* * *

 

Yami clicked his neck side to side. The bed was starting to feel like a prison and it was only Friday. The doctor said he could leave Saturday morning. And Saturday can’t come fast enough. Damn Seto for not warning him that the safeties were turned off. On the plus side, Seto has paid for his hospital bills and almost basically paid the whole hospital itself to make sure Yami was comfortable during his stay. His cousin was even kind enough to talk to the school and arrange for him to be excused to all of his classes and pop quizzes, no exceptions.

Ruby eyes stared down on his worksheet. He couldn’t help but crack a smile. Yugi had given him his homework yesterday. He never asked the smaller teen to do so, but Yugi had volunteered. It may have been repayment for him doing the same, but Yami couldn’t help himself from smiling at the small gesture the boy had made.

Today was Friday. It was supposed to be his and Yugi’s night. Pursing his lips, he cursed Seto for putting him in this position. He can’t be with Yugi since he was still under observation. Sure the electric shock may have put him into a temporary coma, but he found it annoyingly unnecessary to be stuck in the hospital for almost four days just to check if he hadn’t developed an epilepsy, heart attack, stroke, or, Ra forbid, he start foaming in the mouth. He wanted to be with Yugi today and he couldn’t.

“Hello, my darling cousin!” Marik announced loudly as he slammed his door wide open. “I come bearing gifts,” the platinum blond smirked.

Eyes glued on his worksheet, he scoffed. “Not now, Marik. I’m busy with homework.”

“Aww, if you would only look up and see what we have for you, my beloved cousin,” Bakura replied.

Yami eventually rolled his eyes and looked up. “I don’t want anything you-” He stopped as he saw Yugi standing by the door behind his cousins. Wide amethysts connected with surprised rubies. “Uhh...Hey, Yugi,” Yami waved dumbly.

Marik and Bakura wore twin smirks. “We’ll leave you two alone for a few hours,” Marik winked. He then grabbed Bakura’s arm and led him out the door and pushed Yugi inside the room.

“We’ll make sure to try and keep people away from your room for a few hours...Just try to keep the passionate screams to a minimum okay?” Bakura teased before closing the door.

Yugi jumped at Bakura’s statement and blushed furiously.

Yami groaned. Bakura’s going to die once he’s been deemed worthy to leave the hospital. He’ll thank his cousin first, but after that, he was going to deliver a quick death for him.

“Hey, Yami.”

At the sound of Yugi’s voice, Yami stopped his homicidal thoughts towards his white-haired cousin to look at the amethyst-eyed teen. “Hey, Yugi. I didn’t know you were going to visit today.”

“Yeah, well, I...uhh...I wanted to surprise you,” Yugi laughed nervously, scratching his nape and avoiding eye contact with Yami. In truth, he wanted to see Yami. Friday was their day. It felt weird not seeing him on Friday. Granted, there were days that they didn’t get to be with each other on a Friday but they still saw each other at school.

“Surprise me?” Yami asked with a smirk.

Yugi rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Okay, I forgot to tell you. I was too busy trying to make up an excuse so that Joey and the gang didn’t have to walk me to my place today so I could go with your cousins here.” He took the seat next to the bed.

“Sit on the bed with me,” Yami said quickly. Thankfully, Yugi followed him and sat on the bed. Their faces merely inches from each other. “How was school?” he asked dumbly. He wasn’t prepared for the intensity their small distance from each other was giving him. Was it always there? He couldn’t remember. Maybe it was always there, he just couldn’t remember since he was too busy kissing the living daylights out of the other boy. He slowly removed his heart rate monitor from his finger. If his heart started to beat fast, that would be too awkward. Thank the heavens they decided that he was strong enough to pee on his own that he didn’t need a catheter. If he got a boner from being this close with Yugi, catheter will only make that situation...uncomfortable.

“School’s okay. Did you get my email last night?” Yugi asked casually.

“Yup. Thank you by the way.” Yami stared at Yugi’s neck, trying his hard to check if the marks he made were still there. Every Friday he always made it his ritual to redo the marks on Yugi’s neck that the teen has hidden well with his choker.

It was odd to see Yami in a hospital gown. The dead white color of the clothing plus the same monotone hue of his bedsheets were a stark contrast to Yami’s sun-kissed skin and tricolor locks.The way the hospital gown was just so flat white made even the healthiest athlete look sick. Kisara’s hair was white, but it was more of a silvery white than a flat white like the hospital gown. Even Ryou’s hair didn’t look as sickly as the white on the linens of the hospital. “You don’t look like you belong here,” he blurted out.

Yami raised an eyebrow, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I think hospitals need to change the color of their sheets and the hospital gowns. Anyone will look sick when they’re surrounded by all these sickly looking things,” he gestured to the whole bed. “Are you even sick?”

“I got electrocuted, Yugi. I’m lucky my brain isn’t fried. Just minor burn injuries but I think my personality is still intact.”

“Can you still get a boner?”

The darker teen let out a laugh. That was unexpected. And he actually needed the laugh. The hospital was getting so dull, he was afraid he might catch _that_ bug. When he finally calmed down, he saw that Yugi was chuckling too. “You wanna find out?” His daring hand was already on Yugi’s choker, unclasping it to reveal the almost clean pale and slender neck of the other teen.

Yugi tried to act. “You don’t look appealing to me right now, to be honest,” he teased as he hooked his finger at Yami’s collar, tugging the flimsy fabric softly. “Besides, what if someone catches us?” His body was in autopilot as he leaned in closer to Yami who already had his book and worksheets on the bedside table.

“Oh, I don’t look appealing to you right now, Mutou?” Yami breathed into Yugi’s neck. He smirked when he saw the involuntary shiver. He could feel his blood rushing south. Oh yeah, he can still get a boner alright. He lightly grazed his nose against the pale neck and made sure to let out a breath as he spoke. “How about now?” he asked, his voice going down an octave.

_Fuck. Me._ Yugi was doing his best to keep his cool in check. But Yami was so close. Too close. Thoughts of getting caught didn’t really worry him. In fact, it actually added to the excitement he was feeling right now. His finger lightly grazed the skin of Yami’s collarbone, making sure to lightly press his nail and make the other teen groan at the treatment. He ran the finger up Yami’s neck before burying his hand in the soft locks of Yami’s hair. He tugged lightly on Yami’s hair so they were both face to face. After a few torturous seconds, all of their resolve were broken and their lips connected.

As a natural reaction, Yami’s hands went to work with taking Yugi’s school jacket off. That was always the prime directive when the other teen’s lips were on his. Once the jacket was disposed of, his head cleared and he remembered the goal he wanted to achieve today so he pulled away from the kiss and attached his lips on Yugi’s neck to get to work.

Yugi had no idea when he moved that he was now straddling Yami on the bed. But the proof that Yami can still get a boner was evident and pushing into his ass that he couldn’t help but groan. He felt a shot of pain where Yami was torturing him and it only mixed in with the pleasure as he felt a wet tongue lick the bite as a form of apology. “Yami…” he gasped out eventually when Yami switched sides and make another mark on his neck.

“Hey, Bakura, are you in he…” Ryou’s eyes didn’t go wide when he encountered the scene in front of him. In all honesty, he wished he didn’t say anything so the two teens on the bed didn’t notice his entrance. But now, he was in a very awkward situation that he seriously needed to leave but he was frozen in place. The sight was now embedded in his mind. Yami’s hands on Yugi’s ass, his mouth on his neck, while Yugi was straddling Yami on the bed moaning and panting, his hands buried in the other teen’s hair.

“H-hey, Ryou,” Yugi waved. His face resembled a tomato. He squirmed to get off of Yami but the other teen held him in place. He looked over at Yami who shifted his eyes downward, then Yugi blushed, if it was feasibly possible, blushed harder as he realized Yami’s little problem.

Ryou finally found his voice. “Hey, Yugi. Have you seen Bakura? He told me to meet him here so we can go to his place together. Hi, Yami. Feeling better?” He sounded casual now that the wave of initial shock was gone.

“I’m good, Ryou. I’ll be discharged tomorrow. I think Bakura’s with Marik at the cafeteria.” Yami’s voice was strained. Yugi kept squirming to get off his lap which was just sweet friction for his erection. He held the teen on his lap firmer and pinned him down with a glare.

“Uh-huh. I’ll leave you guys to...whatever you guys were doing.” Ryou finally left after bowing.

Yugi slapped Yami’s arm playfully. “We seriously need to stop getting caught, you know.”

“I’m sorry,” Yami said unapologetically, attaching his lips on Yugi’s neck again. The need to mark the teen on his lap was just too strong. He slowly bucked his hips towards Yugi’s to create the delicious friction he experienced earlier. He groaned when he felt hands on his chest pushing him away. When he finally let go of Yugi’s neck, he couldn’t help but pout for being halted from his fun.

“Not here,” Yugi pressed. “I don’t want another unnecessary reveal.” He chuckled and finally got off Yami’s lap. “I came here to give you today’s homework personally. And I wanted to see you and check if you’re okay.”

Yami bit his cheek to keep himself from smiling like an idiot. He wanted to swoon at the attention Yugi was giving him. He was thankful that he took off his heart rate monitor, or else Yugi would hear the rapid beats of his heart. “Anything I need to worry about at school?”

“Aside from Tea, none.” Yugi shrugged then chuckled at his joke.

The other teen waited before laughing at the joke. He was glad that Yugi stayed longer, even though sex wasn’t involved. The both of them did their homework together and the smaller teen even helped him with Thursday homework. After an hour, Marik came crashing in again to announce that he was going home. The platinum blond did express his disappointment, quite loudly too, when he didn’t catch the two tricolor haired teens in a very compromising position. Yami flipped him off for that before Marik practically pranced out of his hospital room.

Yugi and Yami were now just talking about school when they were interrupted by the sound of a gong. It was Yugi’s ringtone for his sister. He rolled his  eyes and picked it up.

“Hello?”

“Do I need to pick you up from the hospital or do you still remember that you have a house to go home to?” Kisara asked with a giggle.

Yugi groaned. “Are you on your way home?”

“Yep. So, should I make a detour of the hospital?”

“Might as well. What’s our alibi?”

“I whisked you away for a night out of town. Took you on a short drive just you and me chatting in the car listening to music. Bro-sis bonding time.”

“That sucks. But sure let’s go with that.”

“Be there in three minutes, babe.” Then Kisara hung up the phone.

Sighing, Yugi pocketed his phone then packed up his stuff. “I’ll see on Monday right?” he asked the teen on the bed.

Yami stared into those amethyst eyes and, he wasn’t sure but it was probably his wishful thinking, saw the desperation in them. “I might get sent to the psyche ward if they don’t release me from this place. So yeah, we’ll see each other on Monday.”

Yugi nodded. “That’s good to hear. Well, I can’t keep my sister waiting. See you on Monday, Yami.” Yugi waved goodbye and with a stroke of courage, he kissed Yami quickly on the lips before running out the room with a burning blush on his face.

Back in the room, Yami froze in place. That was new. Not really. Yugi had kissed him before. Yugi had initiated kisses before. Why was this any different? Then it was like he was transported back to his bedroom. The one night that Yugi kissed him before they fell asleep. It was such a tender kiss, it wasn’t like the kisses they shared. Light, tender, and sweet. Yami shook his head and leaned back to his bed.

“I don’t really need anymore delusions tonight,” he groaned to the ceiling. Today was already a weird realistic delusion for him. Yugi ‘No Strings Attached’ Mutou just visited him at the hospital to give him his homework and just check up on him. He covered his eyes with his arm as he groaned again. It’s not like Yugi brought flowers and balloons for him. He gave him his homework for the day. Yugi didn’t even initiate the make-out session, he even insisted they stop making out before they get caught _again_ . And _again_ it was due to the fact that Yami got impatient.

Speaking of, he was sure as hell, Ryou was going to tell Bakura all about this little slip up of his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone who hasn't read the manga, Hirutani's gang is actually Joey's ex-gang back in the first few volumes of the manga. I can't recall if they were part of Season 0, but I do recall the story for it. Hirutani and his gang are from Rintama High an Joey is part of that gang. Yugi and Tristan saw Joey hanging out with them and little cinnamon roll Yugi went and tried to talk to Joey but got ignored by him and was teased by the other gang members. Because of the exchange, Hirutani decided that he'd torture Yugi for fun and our beloved Yami wasn't going to let that happen. Yugi was captured and, I believe he was beaten and tasered. Yami took over before Joey and Tristan arrived and during a Shadow Game, Yami electrocuted Hirutani and his gang using the taser and the water surrounding them, because no one hurts his precious hikari and lives to tell the tale.
> 
> Anyone catch my little "House" reference? I couldn't resist, it was such a great quote on the first season of the show that I had to put it in and change it a bit. Yugi is still a little shookt from his nightmare that's why he's a little pissy, the poor baby. I hope you guys like it. Leave a comment about what you think so far.


	6. Dropping Bombs

Sunday was family day, as Solomon demanded it be. The younger members of the Mutou household slept in today which was fine by him with all the drama they had to face yesterday. This morning, Yugi was able to experience how Kisara is not really a morning person. She came to the dining area wearing an oversized shirt and blue silk shorts while her eyes were still closed shut. When he greeted her “Good Morning” she not only ignored him but she was glaring even with her eyes closed. Yugi tried to poke her shoulder, but as if she could feel him, she growled at him, forcing Yugi to retract his approaching hand. He was too amused at the sight when he took his seat on the dining table. So she really isn’t a morning person after all.

Grandpa couldn’t help but chuckle at the exchange. Being at the house with Kisara when she wakes up, he already knew how to deal with the girl’s grouchiness when she just woke up. He placed a full mug of very hot black coffee in front of her, making sure that the steam could reach her nose. Blue eyes instantly appeared at the scent of the drink. She grabbed the mug and put it closer to her face to inhale the scent more before taking a sip.

“One sip of coffee and it’s like she transforms into a whole different person,” Grandpa commented.

Amazed, Yugi poked at his sister and was amused when she didn’t flinch or growl. Her eyes were still blank due to her still sleepy state, but the grumpy attitude was gone in an instant.

Solomon had decided to use the morning and afternoon to spend time with his grandchildren. After their very enlightening therapy session with Kisara’s psychiatrist, it made him realize just how important the integrity of a family is to a child. The mistakes of their parents broke Kisara, he was too late to fix it. Staring at his grandson, Solomon was determined to make sure he wasn’t too late to give Yugi the family he needed.

Playing games was the key to the heart of anyone from the Mutou family, Solomon had discovered. It was a theory that he had tested long ago. It works on Yugi, it works on him, it worked on his son, and it obviously works on Kisara when her eyes brightened the moment he said they were going to have a triangle duel as a way of bonding.

And he instantly regretted it when his grandchildren started ganging up on him.

Kisara and Yugi both have decks with monsters that level up on their own special way. Yugi had his Silent Swordsman and Silent Magician level up on almost every turn, while Kisara had her Armed Dragon and Horus that level up every time they destroy any monster. Kisara disables her grandfather from using almost any of his cards while Yugi’s monsters gets stronger at every turn and together they became a demolition duo. He couldn’t help but smile at the way Yugi leaned in towards his sister as they laughed. The psychiatrist was right, they were good for each other. Yugi had grown distant from a lot of people ever since the divorce, he rarely hung out with his friends too, and he knew that Yugi was starting to get annoyed with how much they hover around him. Yugi had said that they were busy with their part-time jobs, but was that all?

After their second round and his second time losing to his conniving grandchildren, the house phone rang. Yugi volunteered to pick it up but Solomon stopped him.

“Hello?” he greeted happily as he watched his grandchildren happily teased each other with the throw pillows surrounding them. But the happiness was drained from him when he heard the voice on the other line speak.

“Hey, dad,” his son, Yuichi, spoke with a nervous laughter. “It’s been so long since I called, I thought you would’ve moved already and changed your number.”

Solomon turned his body so his grandchildren couldn’t see the mortified expression on his face. “Can I help you?” his voice was even and expressionless. He needed to stop himself from letting the rage in him take over his voice more so as not to alarm the people in the living room oblivious to the volcano about to erupt inside of him than for the person on the other line.

“Look, dad,” Yuichi started. His voice sounded solemn, and Solomon recognized that tone. It was the tone his son would always use whenever he was to apologize for something or tell him something his son knew he’d be disappointed at. “Aiko and I saw each other while I was at London and we got to talking.”

Oh gods no… Yugi’s almost eighteen, they can’t take him away anymore. How could they torture his grandson again with a false image of a happy family? Were they getting back together _again_ and hope it sticks only to get divorced _again_ and leaving Yugi?

“Before you hang up, no, we’re not taking Yugi away. We just want to talk to him, explain everything and apologize to him,” Yuichi said hurriedly, obviously knowing his father’s own train of thought. “I was just calling so we could plan on a time and place and maybe-”

“What makes you think he even wants to talk to you?” Solomon snapped in a hushed voice, but the venom in his tone was evident. He peered behind him and saw that his grandchildren were now focused on their own duel which he was relieved for. When the two concentrated, it took a lot to lose it.

“Dad, you know as his parents that we have every right to see our son,” Yuichi argued. “Aiko and I want to talk to Yugi. He’s our son, we’re his parents, he will want to talk to us.”

“Yugi is almost eighteen years old, Yuichi. He has the right to not talk to you. You can’t use your parentage to force him to see you.” Solomon bit his tongue and taped into his self control to make sure to keep the knowledge about Kisara as a secret. If those two knew that Kisara was living with them, they might immediately fly to Domino and do their best to tear her away from them.

“You can always talk to him about it, dad. Please, dad. Do this for me,” Yuichi begged. He knew his father’s weakness when it came to family. His father was normally a forgiving man, if there was a way for them to reconcile, he knew the man would take a bite at it.

“I’m doing this for Yugi, so it will be his choice if he wants to talk to you, and my mind has been made, Yuichi,” Solomon practically growled.

Yuichi’s voice was now threatening. “Fine, this isn’t the end of it, dad. We _will_ have our chance to talk to Yugi whether you like it or not.”

“No, Yuichi, it’s not my choice, it’s Yugi’s. I may want you to talk to him, but if he doesn’t then my hands are tied. I believe he and his sister deserve as much given what you both have put them through.” His eyes went wide then closed in frustration at the realization of what he just said.

_Oh crap._

The person on the other line was silent for a moment. “How dare you bring my dead daughter to this argument,” Yuichi growled.

Solomon narrowed his eyes. How could Yuichi lie to him again about his grandchild? “You dare lie to me, boy?” There really was no reason to hide it anymore. “I know your daughter survived. And I also know that you, Aiko, and Esmeralda put her to the foster care system when she was born. So don’t you _dare_ lie to me.”

“Grandpa?” the soft voice of Yugi made him jump.

Solomon turned and put his finger to his lips signaling the two to keep quiet as he continued his conversation. “And another thing, _son_ . I will say this again, Yugi _and_ Kisara have every right to not talk to you if they don’t want to. I will pass the message to _them_ about you calling but I will let them decide if they want to talk to you or not. Now if you don’t have anything else to say, then good day.” He almost slammed the phone back in its place before looking at his grandchildren with confused faces. He sighed and motioned for the two to walk back with him to the living room. Once they were all seated he gave a soft smile and tried his best to phrase everything he wanted to say.

“Grandpa,” Yugi started, “You do remember what Dr. Martin said about keeping family matters secret from the family.”

Solomon chuckled. Dr. Martin was Kisara’s psychiatrist that they saw yesterday afternoon by his granddaughter’s request. The session was eye-opening for the three of them. Not only was the doctor helping Kisara but she was also concerned about Yugi and him. He only hoped the person she has recommended to replace her was just as compassionate.

“I know, Yugi. Just give me a minute.” The old man took a deep breath before divulging the topic of his earlier conversation. “That was your father who called.” He tried to think about how exciting it would be to go to the dig in Greece for the first month then to Egypt for the rest of his trip. Anything to keep his emotions in check. “He called to say that they, he and Aiko, wanted to talk to Yugi.”

Yugi scowled. He knew how these talks went. Every few years, his parents would want to talk to him and sometimes they would kid themselves into saying that they will try harder for him. He has had to sit through these talks for so long that he can swear that his parents were reading from a script when they talk to him. The fact that he was now eighteen meant that they had no right to push him into talking. Back then, they could demand for at least six hours to talk to him or spend a day with him. Now that he was of legal age, they couldn’t demand that anymore. He stared at the stoic face of his sister. They wanted to talk to him not to her. This must be killing her in the inside.

“What happens now?” Yugi asked.

“It’s up to you, Yugi, if you want to talk to them. And if you do, I want to ask that I be there along with Kisara,” Solomon nodded at his granddaughter who still had blank expression on her face.

“Can we talk to them during winter break?” Yugi pursed his lips in frustration. As much as he didn’t want to talk to them, he needed an explanation, Kisara deserved one, and so did his grandpa. He desperately wanted to know what drove them to sending his sister away. He had grown to care for Kisara and he felt furious for what happened to her growing up.

“I can arrange that. Would you prefer that we talk here or somewhere else?”

“He’s in America right now right? I was thinking maybe we could go there instead. But that might cost us a lot.”

“I can help with that,” Kisara answered after finding her voice.

Yugi and Solomon raised their heads to look at her. “Kisara, you’ve already done so much for us…” Yugi said trailing off.

Kisara shook her head and gave a reassuring smile. “I can afford it. And we don’t even have to pay for a hotel. We can live at my loft in New York or at my dads’ place in California. I’m pretty sure they won’t mind.”

Solomon nodded. “I’m pretty sure Yuichi will call again. No one answers the phone until it goes to voicemail and we’re sure that it’s not your parents or, may the gods forbid, Esmeralda. Heaven knows they’ll call again and insist. It’s always been like this,” he muttered.

After an uncomfortable silence, Kisara stood up and volunteered to cook lunch.

As she prepped the ingredients for lunch, the three eventually went back to their earlier lighter and joking mood.

“You know,” Yugi said as he helped set the table. “I always thought you were such an ungrateful prick for never coming home early enough to help make dinner.”

“Yugi!” Solomon scolded, although the amusement in the eyes of both of his grandchildren made him relax.

Kisara let out a good laugh. “I know. I’m sorry. I do cook grandpa a mean lunch and I always go out early in the morning to bring bagels for breakfast to make up for it.”

“She sometimes brings amazing sushi from lord knows where when she’s too lazy to cook too,” grandpa nodded. “I used to bring Yugi good sushi and sashimi when he got A’s back when he was in primary school.”

“Oh? Why did you stop? I clearly remember him getting an A on his Calculus exam last week.”

“I guess when he went to highschool and _always_ got A’s, I just gave him extra allowance or pay for the sign-up fee for when he joins dueling tournaments.” He shrugged and leaned back on his seat at the dining table. He and Yugi were not allowed to help while she cooked lunch. And even though they were both stubborn and continuously insisted, the very dangerous knife Kisara was holding as they argued was a good enough threat for them to sit still while she cooked. They’ve never felt so scared for the life of a green onion before.She cooked a simple pork cutlet bowl for the three of them.

“This tastes awesome, Kisara. How did you learn to cook good Japanese food?” Yugi asked enthusiastically with his mouth still full.

“I was the weird adopted Asian kid with gay parents in high school,” she shrugged as she spoke, making it seem like that was explanation enough for Yugi’s question. Chuckling, she explained further. “I wanted to be a stereotype. Since I’m Japanese, I wanted my packed lunches to only be Japanese food, have a goofy accent when I speak English even though I can speak without it, and be very timid. I wake up early everyday to make my packed lunch and for a whole year, I started getting good at it.”

“You’re weird,” Yugi teased.

Kisara raised an eyebrow at her brother. “Oh? And you’re not?”

“She’s got you there, Yugi,” grandpa nodded.

Yugi huffed. Of course he was weird. He was the weird vertically-challenged kid with goofy hair and divorced parents. Of course he was weird. He was in a secret no strings attached relationship with his best friend’s crush, and said best friend has been his crush for some time too until it eventually faded.

Of course he was weird.

After lunch, Solomon went back down to the game shop along with Yugi to do inventory while Kisara finished some work. After an hour, Kisara eventually turned her laptop off and joined her family down at the shop to help.

Yugi couldn’t help but feel at ease having his sister around. She knew of his secrets, not all, but the major ones, she knew. He was close to just breaking down with all the secrets he had to keep from a lot of people. Having her, and even Yami, around made him feel like he didn’t have to carry all of his secret alone.

Yami.

They’ve been talking almost everyday… Well they _are_ talking everyday, he just didn’t want to admit it to himself. Whether it was through messages, calls or in person, they were talking frequently for long periods of time. It’s not like he had confided with Yami about everything, he was still careful not to divulge too much about himself. But he still felt at ease with the crimson-eyed teen. He wasn’t sure what changed between them. Maybe it was because now, with the whole computer project they had to do, they had a reason to be seen together. No one would question it. No pressure will come from it.

“Okay, my back’s acting up. We should call it a day and just finish all this work tomorrow,” grandpa said as he tried to stand up straight carefully. There were boxes of games strewn across the floor of the little storage room.

“You can go on up, grandpa. We can finish it up here,” Yugi waved.

“Go, grandpa. We’ll get all this done before dinner,” Kisara added.

Solomon huffed at his grandchildren as they pushed him up the stairs to rest. “If I didn’t know any better, it looks to me like you guys are trying to get rid of me,” he muttered but followed their advice. He didn’t mind that his grandchildren were hiding stuff from him. They’re young, they _will_ hide things from him. Even he hid things from his father when he was their age.

“So, now that grandpa’s out of earshot...you mind telling me why you were at the hospital last Friday?” Kisara asked with an evil smirk on her face.

At that, Yugi couldn’t help but blush. In reality, him going to the hospital was a spur of the moment decision. “I gave Yami his homework for the day. That’s all.”

Cerulean blue eyes rolled at the ridiculousness in Yugi’s voice. “What? Did you crawl to the hospital? School ends at four and I called you around seven in the evening.” She picked up an empty box and started stuffing board games in it. Her eyes were still challenging her brother to try and lie. She hadn’t received a text from him that day which put her in a disadvantage when their grandfather called her asking where Yugi was.

Yugi scowled and turned around to fix another box, doing his best not to show his lying face to his sister. “I helped him with some of the lectures he missed and we finished some homework.”

“Uh huh. Okay.”

The very clipped tone Kisara used to reply sent a chill through Yugi. He could hide from Tea, he could hide from Joey, he could hide from Tristan, hell he could hide even from grandpa and Yami, but he couldn’t hide from her. He had to literally hide from her for that to be successful. “We made out okay?” he said exasperated. He turned around to see a victorious smile on his sister’s face.

“You went to the hospital because you wanted to make out?” she said as she let out a few snorts of laughter.

“No!” he retorted a little too strongly. “I didn’t plan on making out with him. I just wanted to see him that’s all.”

“Because…?” she teased.

Yugi huffed. She was trying to force him to say things. It became a game to her now to rile him up and make him say things without going through a filter. Just once, he’d like to find something of his sister’s that was just as...difficult that he could use as ammo for teasing her. “Look, I felt bad that he got suspended for knocking Ushio out.”

“You care for him.”

Upon hearing this, he turned around and saw Kisara casually putting boxes back on the shelves as if her words didn’t hold such a grave meaning. He wanted to defend himself from her accusation. “I -”

“Tell me about your friends at school.” Kisara had cut off whatever he was about to say.

“Huh?” He hadn’t expected the topic change, but he was thankful nonetheless. “Well… I have a few friends in school. There’s Tea, she’s been my friend for as long as I can remember. Then there’s Joey and Tristan, I met them both before the start of high school.”

“You already told me about them before. What are they like?”

“Uhh…” Suddenly, a buzz from his pants pocket .

Saved by the bell.

It was a text message from Yami.

**‘Hey, my cousins and I are playing online. You wanna join? We need a fifth player.’**

“Oooh! You should totally go!” Kisara swooned from behind him.

Yugi jumped and swatted his sister away. “Kisara!” he scolded with a red face. “How did you even get here without me hearing when you were at the other side of the room?”

Kisara sat on a the step ladder and showed her socked foot. Wiggling her toes in front of her brother, she stuck her tongue out. “They don’t make much noise. So...you guys hanging out at his place?” she waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

A groaned escaped Yugi’s lips. “I don’t need to go to Yami’s place to play a game with them, Kisara. You know that.”

“I thought it was code for something naughty,” she laughed. After she recovered, she gave a soft smile filled with amusement at her brother. “Ask him what time you’re needed online. If it’s now, I can finish up here.”

Yugi absentmindedly nodded and sent a reply. “Do you have a headset? Mine’s busted,” he asked. He wasn’t sure if Yami and his cousins would have voice chat while playing, but  he had to be prepared.

The elder Mutou sibling tilted her head to the side. “Yeah, I do. You know, you can borrow my laptop too. We can’t risk you busting it again especially when you have a project in it.”

“But don’t you have work stuff there too?” In reality, Yugi was itching to use his sister’s laptop. It was a high-end Alienware gaming laptop that Yugi could only dream of owning. Granted, if he ever used the debit card that contained the child-support funds his parents have religiously bulked up, he could pay for one. But as a form of rebellion against his parents, he never touched it but he was sure his grandpa used it to pay for hospital bills for when he would be sent to the emergency room for bruises and broken bones from bullies

Kisara scoffed. “Like I don’t know you’ve been lusting after my baby ever since you laid eyes on him.”

“Him?” he asked raising an eyebrow.

Kisara nodded. “Mmhmm. His name is Hermes. Named after the Greek god of shitloads of stuff. But he’s also known as the messenger to the gods.” She finished stuffing another box of games and went up the ladder to put it back on the shelf. “Hermes is my connection to the world so to speak so I named him as such.”

Yugi was about to make a snarky comment when his phone buzzed again.

**‘We’re going online in about thirty minutes.’**

Yugi looked around at the almost clean storage room. “You think we can finish up before thirty minutes?”

“We can finish in five. Why? They’re going online on thirty?”

Yugi nodded. “I’ll tell them. And we need to get this all done. The shop may be closed on Sundays but grandpa loves to hang out here in the storage room.”

“I know. I used to see him look through the inventory over and over again. And being a neat freak, he keeps sweeping inside and outside the shop so much.” Kisara gathered some of the papers scattered on the floor and put them in a folder. “I’m glad he’s going out of the country for this dig. He may have this shop, but it doesn’t make him active enough unlike a dig.”

“That’s true. Grandpa’s always an active one. Come on, let’s finish up here so we can head on up.”

Kisara gave him a salute and they began to stock everything in the shelves again.

 

* * *

 

Yami sat on his bed with his laptop desk beside him. He was getting ready for game night with his cousins and Malik, but this time, they pushed him to invite Yugi along. He wasn’t sure how they were able to talk him into it, but right now, he was waiting for Yugi to go online on Discord so they could start with the voice chat.

“Yami, will you fucking relax?” Bakura whined. “You told him we’ll be online in thirty minutes and it’s only been ten minutes since you sent that text.”

Right now, they were waiting for Marik, Malik, and Yugi to go online. It was Marik’s turn to babysit Mokuba and he was on his way to the mansion. Meanwhile, they’re waiting for Malik to wake up. And, as part of their ploy to get Yugi closer to Yami, they decided to play a 5v5 game that Yami saw Yugi played once. Luckily he and his cousins, along with Malik, play the same game. Yami couldn’t help but check Yugi’s stats in the game and his eyes almost bugged out when he was already on high rank in the game. Glorious Legend rank was rare to see. Not impossible, but rare. Seeing Yugi’s stats made Yami a bit self-conscious so he went and practised before he even agreed to invite Yugi to their game night. No need to embarrass himself in front of the guy he was trying to impress. And being the King of Games, he had a reputation to uphold.

A ping from his laptop took him out of his thoughts. Yugi’s online.

“Hey, guys,” came the clear voice of Yugi.

“Whoa, you’ve got a nice mic right there, shrimp,” Bakura remarked.

There was a nervous laugh. “Yeah, my headset has a nice mic.”

“Huh. Oh, I hear my mom calling me. Be right back in thirty minutes!” Then Bakura went on mute and his status was now Idle.

_Smooth, Bakura. Real smooth._

Yami couldn’t help but roll his eyes at his cousin’s “subtlety”. He fired up the game and turned the volume down for it in the settings. “You already on the game, Yugi?”

“Yep. I’m trying to contain my excitement right now. I’m using my sister’s laptop. This thing is a monster!”

Yami chuckled. He’d seen the Alienware gaming laptop that Kisara owned. He was surprised that he was able to control his urge to touch the magnificent piece of machinery when he first saw it. “Is the headset hers too?” He had a feeling Yugi might hide his sister’s identity from his cousins. Yami hadn’t mention the white-haired Mutou to them seeing as it wasn’t in his place to tell.

“Yeah. So are you guys aiming to go for ranked games or not?” Yugi asked.

“Well, no… If we aimed to play ranked games then we can’t play with you seeing as you’re already a Glorious Legend. By the way, how are you keeping your grades up if you rank that high?”

“Hmm… I play on the weekends during my lunch break when I watch the shop. I study while working, so during lunch, I play two rounds which are usually fifteen to twenty-five minutes long.”

None of them noticed that there were already new people joining the voice chat so Yami jumped at the sound of Malik’s voice.

“Hey, Yami! Who are you talking to?”

There was a low chuckle that Yami knew didn’t belong to Malik. Looks like Marik has gone online as well.

“Hey, Malik. I invited my friend Yugi to play with us today.”

It was like Yami could _hear_ the evil glint in Malik’s eyes as he spoke again. “Oooh! Hi, Yugi, friend of Yami and Yami alone! I’m Malik. I’m Marik’s boyfriend. Nice to meet you!”

 _Oh Ra! Please let Malik and Marik behave!_ Yami buried his head in his hands and muted his mic so he could groan audibly. Maybe this was a bad idea. He could hear Malik and Marik talking to Yugi who had replied in mostly single-word sentences.

“I’m back!” Bakura’s voice came. “Okay so are we all here?” he asked.

“Yep!” Marik replied. “Hang on while I set up everything for our co-op play.” Marik had the best internet connection among the five of them, seeing as he was at Seto’s mansion. The three cousins always took a weekend to babysit their youngest cousin, Mokuba. After an incident with one of his ex-nannies, Seto had decided that he preferred that Mokuba stayed with his trusted bodyguard-slash-butler-slash-personal assistant, Roland, during the weekdays, while one of his cousins kept an eye on him on weekends that he was too busy to come home to the mansion. “Okay, I’m almost do-”

“OH MY HOLY RA!” Malik exclaimed which made Yami wince at, not only his volume, but the pitch as well. “Yugi, you’re already a _Glorious Legend_?!”

“Uhh…” was the only thing that can be heard at Yugi’s end.

“Malik, babe. Calm down,” Marik said. “I’m sending the invites now.”

Yami saw the invite and clicked on it. He finally saw the roster of his team. He and Bakura were already Epic Hero rank while Marik and Malik were at the Grand Master rank, the frames that held their avatars were decorated according their rank and an insignia for their rank was beside their name. Only Yugi had the golden and shining frame around his avatar while the shining insignia that was beside his name and the words Glorious Legend was under his avatar.

The page eventually changed and everyone started talking about which characters to choose.

“Okay, I’ll be tank and Malik will be Support and we’ll take the mid lane. Bakura?” Marik asked as he picked his character. The character’s name was Midas, it looked like an oversized sphinx that walked on two legs. Meanwhile, Malik’s character was named Lucy who was a golden angel with three pairs of wings.

“I’ll take assassin. Yami? Mage?” Bakura replied. His character, Seiji, was a grey-haired man with a red robe holding two sai swords.

“Well since you and Marik went melee, I have no choice,” Yami rolled his eyes and picked the only mage in the roster he uses, Achillas. His hero, dressed in a white kilt, with gold linings and a crimson cape, could command fire and had a nice skill that could stun opponents around him, and his last skill is to rain fire from the heavens. “And you, Yugi?” Yami had no idea which was Yugi’s preferred hero.

“I’ll take Vianca,” he simply answered. His hero, wearing purple robes and black flaming feather wings behind her, was one of the newer ones. It was a hero that Yami hadn’t had enough points to buy yet.

There was a whistle. “The dark seductress. I haven’t seen her in action yet,” Malik commented. “Have you used her before?”

“Yep,” Yugi chirped. “She’s good with crowd control and pulling enemies towards the tower. Hey, Yami, I’ll go on the same lane as you. I need your stun skill.”

“Yeah, Yami is quite the stunner, Yugi. He’ll take care of you,” Malik commented innocently, though Yami knew it was anything but.

“Sure no prob, Yugi.” He did his best to ignore the comment, and the snickering from his cousins. The loading screen eventually appeared, showing their opponents’ roster. Three melees and two long range. This should be interesting. “What’s the game plan, Malik?”

“Bakura, you take bottom lane. Once you take down one tower, start farming to beef up your character. Stock up on your durability and speed. Yami, you and Yugi take the top lane, level up until you get your second skill then kill the opponents before farming to reduce your cooldown time. That’s our first step. Marik and I will try to free up the mid lane then I’ll tell you our next actions later.” Malik was always the strategist when it came to playing these types of games. In his absence, Yami would take over as leader. No one questioned Malik’s instructions seeing as he was always right most of the time.

Once the game started, everyone went to their designated lanes and started playing. Yami could see his teammates’ positions on the little map on the upper left corner. His character moved alongside Yugi’s. Once the enemies started appearing, Yami was surprised with Yugi’s character choice. Not only did the little mage would fire what looked like balls of black fire, but the first skill would pull the enemy closer and now Yami could hit them better.

 **“FIRST BLOOD!”** the roaring voice of the announcer exclaimed, showing that the first kill belongs to Yugi.

“Get the tower, Yami,” Yugi ordered.

Yami followed and eventually the enemy tower only had a sliver of life left before the enemy hero came to defend it. Yugi told him to lure the enemy to the center, away from the tower so they could trap him. Yami has played this game numerous of times with his cousins before and has done different strategies before, but the way Yugi would set up their plays was cool. Eventually, Yugi already has three kills, while Yami has three assists, and they already destroyed two towers before retreating to go get new items.

After a few more minutes, the score was currently 20-13 with them on the lead.

“Guys...A little help?” Malik asked.

Looking at the map, Yami could see that they were being pushed back at the mid lane. Yami had no choice but to go back to base since he only had a pinch of life left.

“Coming!” Yugi exclaimed. “Yami?”

“I’m coming, Yugi,” Yami replied. There were snickers heard in the voice chat and Yami couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “I’ll help you guys after I get back my HP.” Once he was back to base, he waited until the little health bar became full. After around five seconds, he went to the mid lane and was surprised that Marik, Malik, and Yugi were already pushing the enemies back.

 

* * *

 

Kisara sat beside Yugi and she was smirking as she watched him play. He was happily sitting on the floor with the laptop on the coffee table while she laid down on the couch. She would look at her phone every few minutes but she was rather enjoying watching her brother crush the game.

Yugi bit his lip as he tried his best not to let out a laugh. He preferred long range rather than melee. Less risk of getting killed. The score was 25-13 with Yugi bagging fifteen kills already and still no deaths, that was when Malik asked for help. He let Marik and Malik lead the way and he would hit from afar. Launching the second skill, he would bag a few more kills no problem, just adding to Yugi’s points.

“Fall back, Yugi! There’s five of them and we don’t have enough health to survive that,” Malik said.

“Just get behind me, Marik has enough health to pick them off. Bakura, just keep pushing at your lane and, Yami, tell me if your third skill has finished its cooldown so it can pick off the strays.”

“Ooh! I think I know what your planning and I like it,” Malik exclaimed excitedly. “Okay, baby, I’ll heal you up while we wait. Bakura, stay hidden. Yami, be a tower hugger and wait for our signal.”

Everyone was waiting by the tower and they waited until all enemies were close enough. Once Yugi saw that they were close enough, he let the heroes damage him a bit before running through the other towers, diminishing the other heroes’ life points. Then out of nowhere, he made a play he has only successfully executed twice ever. He cast the first skill which was to pull all enemy heroes closer to the direction of the tower. Then, as a passive skill, he dashed out of their reach and cast the third skill which was to summon a ring of black fire around the enemies to collectively damage them and knock them out momentarily, halving their HP. Malik gave the signal for Marik to pick the enemies off one by one and when they tried to run, Yugi cast the second skill which was to launch a big ball of black fire and with Yami’s third skill which was to rain fire from the heavens, the announce started roaring for kills.

**“DOUBLE KILL!”**

**“TRIPLE KILL!”**

**“UNSTOPPABLE!”**

**“GODLIKE!”**

**“PENTA KILL!”**

**“LEGENDARY!”**

 

* * *

 

Yami sat there dumbfounded at what just happened. He faintly heard Malik’s whispered amazement and Bakura, or was it Marik, whistling in approval at what just transpired within the last thirty seconds.

“Okay guys, I guess we push forward while we’re still waiting for them to respawn?” Yugi suggested. He was now back at the base with Yami to get back his life points.

“You heard the shrimp. Push guys!” Bakura barked. “You lead, Marik.”

After a few minutes, they were now all on the mid lane taking down the last tower before they reach enemy base. With Malik’s regen skill, whenever their life points was halved, he would cast the regen spell to heal everyone. The tower crumbled and they all let the little minions into enemy base so they become the main tower’s target.

Just in time, all five enemy heroes respawned, but Yami and Bakura took care of them. Yami stunned all five while Bakura tore them down one by one with the help of Yami’s last skill. In a span of two minutes, three out of the five heroes were dead and a few seconds later, the main tower crumbled, ending the game.

The final score was 47-21 with Yugi claiming the MVP spot by getting twenty three kills, zero deaths, and fifteen assists. The other twenty four kills were from Malik, Bakura, and him. Yami just blinked at their scores. Yugi is a monster in this game.

“Holy shit, Yugi! No wonder you’re already ranked as a Glorious Legend! You just completely _owned_ that game!” Malik exclaimed excitedly.

“Not bad, shrimp,” Bakura added. “Hey, Yami, we should invite Yugi on more game nights like this. Although we’ll need him to go down a few ranks so we can join him in ranked games.”

“No kidding,” Marik commented. “He’ll carry us up and we’ll rank up in no time!”

There was a soft chuckle knew all too well. “Thanks guys. That was just a lucky play, trust me. Vianca can dash away from the enemy when her skills hit successfully so I can get away. Also my speed goes up for three seconds whenever I launch a skill successfully.”

“Next round?” Malik asked excitedly.

Everyone agreed and they all went back to match up with their next opponents. While playing, Yami couldn’t help but smile as Yugi was immediately liked by his cousins. Bakura and Marik were very picky with the type of people they associate with. Mana was one of the rare ones, along with Ryou. He was happy that his cousins were actually genuine. One clear indicator of that was the type of trash talking they would throw Yugi’s way. If they didn’t like Yugi’s company, they wouldn’t ask to play any more rounds. They would just _politely_ say that they had to go.

Yugi would throw teases at Yami naturally and the crimson-eyed teen couldn’t help but swoon at the sound of Yugi’s laughter. The mic Yugi was using didn’t add static to the natural laughter that Yami loved to hear. Now if only he could see those amethyst eyes twinkle with mirth as Yugi laughed. He’s seen that face before, whenever Yugi was with his friends. They would joke and poke fun at each other, then Yugi would laugh so hard, his eyes would squint as his cheeks rise up from how big his smile was.

After four more rounds, Yugi eventually had to leave. When he went offline, everyone else left the game but stayed in the voice chat.

“So Ryou caught you guys dry humping in the hospital last Friday,” Bakura said.

Yami audibly groaned. He had totally forgotten about that. “ _Please_ tell me you didn’t…”

Marik barked out a laugh and that was Yami’s answer.

Not only did they talk to Ryou, but they explained _everything_ to him. Yami was pretty sure they have already recruited him to pull Yugi away from his friends and right into Yami’s arms.

“Well, Yami. Look at it this way, Ryou is Yugi’s friend. A person people know he’s close with. You get a new and very important ally to our cause.” Malik tried to reassure him.

Was that what they were doing? Pulling Yugi away from his own friends? For what? To satisfy Yami’s curiosity regarding his feelings towards Yugi? That sounded selfish. What happens when his curiosity was nothing more? What happens to Yugi? Will he push the amethyst-eyed boy aside and move on after they just plucked him from the company of the friends he has known since he was a child? The thought didn’t sit well with Yami. He liked what happened today. What happened today felt normal, natural

“Look, let’s just drop it right now okay?” Yami replied. And before the other three could speak he began again. “I just need to make this work its own way. You guys don’t know him the way I do. So just stop with the whole him getting close to me.”

“Don’t worry, Yami. We won’t make matters worse,” Marik promised.

“Thank you,” Yami replied.

 

* * *

 

 

Bakura latched onto Yami's arm as the crimson-eyed teen left the computer room then pulled him to a less crowded area in the hallway. "We've got a problem," he hissed.

Yami raised an eyebrow at his cousin. "What did you break now?"

Bakura rolled his eyes. "No it's different. It's about your little morning star," he whispered as they waited for Marik to arrive. "He has a date with brunette with boobs this Sunday." They started using code names so the gossips in school didn’t catch on. Malik gave Yugi the name Morning Star while Marik gave names for the rest, such as Brunette with Boobs.

Yami tried to ignore Bakura's words. He really did try his hardest not to get affected by them, but he couldn't help himself. He was affected. "What?" was all he could say.

Marik eventually arrived, ending their hallway conversation. They all walked up to rooftop since Mana was in her usual Monday lunch meeting with the volleyball team. Once they got to the rooftop, they took their usual place there with Ryou already waiting for them.

"Morning star and brunette with boobs are going out on a date this Sunday," Bakura reiterated. They had already explained the majority of Yugi and Yami's little "relationship" to Ryou after he accidentally saw them in the hospital. "I heard Miya talk about how their Sunday meeting with the SC president to go shop for decorations for the school festival was moved because she and little star are going out on a date that day."

"Oh, I heard Yugi tell me about that. He said that Tea was giving him and Joey and Tristan pointers on how to date girls," Ryou snickered. "Yugi isn't exactly excited for the date. He says he's just humouring Tea by agreeing." Ryou obviously just didn’t care for code names since his voice was too low and people on the rooftop are too few and too far away to hear.

"So she's going to go out on a date with brute blond and bike brunet too?" Marik asked with a scoff.

Ryou shook his head. "No. Yugi said that Tea's already heard enough complaints about how those two date other girls that she doesn't need a demo. Yugi, however, has never gone on a date she knew of so they're going out this Sunday so she can judge and give him pointers the next day."

“Dating tips?”

“Joey and Tristan were pushing Yugi to start dating someone since it’s his last year in high school and he’s still single and they were willing to help him get one, but Tea intervened and said that she was more capable of giving tips in dating than those two. And Yugi’s just humoring them by going along with it.”

Bakura scoffed, “Why are they pushing the shrimp to go out and start dating anyway?”

Ryou shrugged, “Who knows? From how I know Yugi, I know he’s not the dating type or the romantic type. Never was.”

“Really?” Yami asked. He wasn’t sure on how to take this little information about Yugi. Is he going to be hurt to know that there was a possibility that their relationship will just be sex? Or is he going to be relieved that whatever date Yugi had with Tea will be fruitless?

“He once told me that he was never one for the flamboyant courting with all the hearts, chocolates, and flowers. Also, Yugi knows when he’s rejected even before he asks anyone out. When he know’s he’s been rejected, he’ll stop caring. Why do you think he’s never asked Tea out?” Ryou berated himself internally when he saw Yami’s face. He could see the internal battle going on from his crimson eyes. He had to be careful with what he had to say.

Yami tried to process what he just found out. Another thing to archive in the masterlist of “Unexpected Things I Never Knew About Yugi Mutou”.   

 

* * *

 

Yami was relieved for the sense of normalcy that they had today. As per what the teacher ordered, he and Yugi were working on their school work in the game shop while the smaller teen occasionally tend to the customers. They decided to stay in Yugi's today since his grandpa was in another dig in Greece and Kisara decided to stay overnight in her new office at Domino City's business district. Ever since Kisara stayed in the Mutou house, Yugi has decided that they stay over at Yami's place for their eventual booty calls. It didn't bother them, but when grandpa was in a dig, Yugi has no choice but to stay and look after the shop after class, and with Kisara's presence after closing time, sex was automatically off the table. But now, they had a window of opportunity today. They had the house to themselves.

The red-eyed teen made it his personal chore to tease Yugi with "innocent" touches while he tended to the customers. A poke on his side, a hand on his thigh and some "accidental" caress on the smaller one's ass whenever he would go up to get a drink. Meanwhile, Yugi has been throwing glares at his friend who would only shrug innocently. He was already trying to remember where he kept his tools for restraining Yami to his bed as a means of revenge for the "accidental" touches. Neither of the two boys mention it during the times that the shop didn't have customers, they would only have casual conversations that usually surrounded their school work.

"How are you and your sister getting along?" Yami asked casually, his hand dangerously high up Yugi's thigh. He did his best to avoid questions regarding family but apparently, topics regarding the white-haired Mutou was an easy one to tread. She was the only other member of the Mutou household, aside from Yugi, that he's met officially. He's yet to cross paths with Solomon Mutou due to his frequent trips overseas.

Yugi gritted his teeth, his focus wasn't on his calculus book anymore but on the warm hand that was teasing him. He cleared his throat before answering which earned him a smirk from the other teen, "We're getting along great. I honestly didn't expect it." He squeaked when he felt the warm hand squeeze his thigh a little too hard.

"You guys turning into BFF's now?" he asked, his index finger running down the smaller teen's thigh then along the curve of Yugi's ass.

Yugi nodded slowly in reply, afraid that his voice might go up an octave if he spoke. After sighing through his nose, he spoke again, "Apparently, we found a common interest. Games. She's good in videogames, amazingly high tolerance for carpal tunnel. She knows her way around a deck, we dueled a couple of times and her strategy is quite deadly."

"She duels?"

Yugi nodded. "She's good. Uses a Horus deck, plus her very annoying and very persistent Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys. Who won't. Fucking. Stay. In. The. Damn. Graveyard."

The taller teen chuckled, he slipped his hand carefully under Yugi's shirt and teased the skin on top of his pants. "So she won?"

"Nope. I won. Apparently, all you had to do was actually destroy the damn thing in battle. No magic cards, no trap cards, not even monster effects. Just plain brawling."

"Hmm... I haven't dueled you before. But I bet I'll still win, you know, world champion King of Games and all."

"Well... Technically, you're still world champion because I can't afford the tournament application fee."

"Oh? Is that a challenge?"

"Yeah. And if I win...I want a prize. I want you to wear leather pants on a specific day I tell you."

"And if I win, I get a  lap dance from you."

Yugi blinked at Yami. “A lap dance?”

Yami chuckled. “What? You don’t know how to dance?”

The smaller teen scoffed. “I know how to dance. Why do you think I’m so flexible? I can even do a split while standing on one foot.”

Whatever argument Yami had at that moment just left him, and the image of Yugi’s lithe body doing a split pose invaded his mind. Oh he was going to duel Yugi more than once to get the teen to do that with no clothes on.

"Deal!"

"How was your visit to her psychiatrist go?"

"I can't divulge the specifics, but long story short, she has so much baggage, that I can't even hate her anymore. My- _our_ parents did a number on her." He scoffed. "And I thought I had issues."

"Sorry I asked," Yami said, his hand was already on the other one's knee, squeezing it for support. He reached the end of that conversation. Going deeper than the surface was forbidden. He was already walking on thin ice as it is. But he was also craving for some special connection with the other teen. If he goes any further, he might lose Yugi.

Yugi shook his head, "No, it's fine, really. I'm not sad or anything. I'm glad you asked, I haven't had the chance to talk about this to anyone."

"And you thought you'd share it with your booty call?" Yami teased pinching the smaller one's side.

Yugi rolled his eyes and smacked the other teen's arm, "One, it's considered a booty call when I call you in an ungodly hour for sex, two, psychiatrists are too expensive, and three, as twisted as it sounds, I still consider you my friend. My only true friend right now, to be exact. And I kinda love you for that."

The moment the words came out of the Yugi's lips, the two froze. It's been months since they started this little arrangement of theirs. Months since their first time, a year even. Months of sharing their problems on the surface to each other but never really addressing what was going on between them. In Yugi's brain he was freaking out by the lack of filter he had. He wasn't even sure if he meant what he said. He looked at Yami who was also in a state of shock and used the very awkward silence to his advantage. He mulled over what he said earlier and tried to find excuses to make it sound as platonic as possible. Love was foreign to him, taboo even. The very mention of the dreaded L-word made him run for the hills. But instead, his feet were still planted on the floor of the shop with no intentions of moving miles away from the situation.

But then, he did consider Yami as his only true friend. Maybe he can just emphasize that and forget the L-word even escaped his lips. How were they going to have sex later with that word hanging above their heads?  Would they even want to? He tried to will his body to move, to no avail. He wanted to escape this room, avoid Yami's crimson gaze but amethyst met rubies and no one tried to look away.

Unlike Yugi, who was overthinking, Yami's mind was blank. The L-word echoed in his brain and the sound bounced around. His mind refused to process it. He didn't know what to think of it. Of course he knew that he and Yugi were friends, but hearing the L-word gave their relationship a whole new meaning. He was shocked of course. He was also a bit happy about it since this was his end goal. But he was also scared of what the consequences were with how their relationship  Why did he accept their fuck buddies status? Why did he even thought having sex with him was a good idea in the first place? Why did he keep on coming back for more? Then the L-word started to bounce around his mind again.

Why was the idea of Yugi still having a crush on Tea feel like bullets to his heart?

Yugi was the one to end the silence with a questioning tone, "You _are_ my friend ri-"

"Despite everything we've done in the past few months? Of course I am and I consider you my friend too," Yami teased. He was relieved at the mention of the word "friend". Neither of them were really willing to go to uncharted territory that is their feelings... yet.

Things were instantly back to normal. They were back to their teasing and Yami to his not-so-innocent touches. But their little game had to stop when the Kame Game Shop got a very unexpected customer.

“Hey, Yugi,” Tristan greeted as he entered the shop.

The two tri-color haired teens froze as they stared at the male brunet at the entrance of the shop. Yugi wasn’t expecting Tristan today, he and Joey said they had detention today.

“Hey, Tristan,” Yugi greeted back. “No detention for today?”

“Well, I don’t but Joey got into an argument with the teacher so he got a longer sentence,” he chuckled. “Hey, Yami!” he waved at the other teen behind the counter. “What are you doing here?”

“Sensei asked Yugi to keep me up to speed with the lessons I missed. We’re paired up with most of the group projects too so, I’m here since Yugi said he needed to keep an eye on the shop every after school,” Yami explained.

“What about you, Tristan? What made you stop by?” Yugi asked.

The brunet shrugged. “No reason. I just heard that you went home by yourself, I wanted to check if you came back in one piece.”

Yugi pouted, his eyes narrowed at his brunet friend. “Tristan, I can take care of myself. I don’t need you guys checking up on me all the time.”

“I know that, Yugi. I also know that you always play it cool when you get beat upw. You tend to hide it or pass it off as nothing. I just wanted to be sure. We all do.” He smiled gently at his friend as he rubbed the back of his neck, a sign of his nervousness. Yugi always preferred to be independent, mostly because he thinks that when people fuss about him he feels like he was being a burden to them. Also, Tristan had wanted to know how his friend was doing seeing as they rarely hung out ever since the start of senior year. He and Joey theorized that it might be because Yugi wanted to distance himself from the gang due to the indirect rejection he received from Tea. Granted, Yugi had been distant from them since the “incident” happened, but his tri-color haired best friend became even more distant now. They couldn’t hang out with him because of their part-time jobs and with Yugi taking care of the game shop, but Yugi also rarely leaves his place anymore during the weekends when all three of them were free.

He and Joey had started a ploy to get him and Tea together if that was how they were going to get their friend back. Somehow it was working, but not as effective as they would have wanted it to be. They understood Yugi distancing himself ever since the incident with his parents happened. Yugi had closed off of almost everyone, since then. He was usually a happy shining friendly face towards others, but ever since that day, he would only speak when spoken to and always had a blank expression on his face or he would be spacing out. But he and Joey felt like Yugi must be mending a broken heart because of Tea and, as his best friends, they had to do something about it.

Yugi jumped slightly when he heard his phone ring. Looking at the number, it was his grandfather, he turned to his friend. “Hey, Tristan, I need to take this call. I’ll be back in a sec okay?” After Tristan nodded, Yugi went up to the house part of the building to talk to his grandfather, leaving Yami and Tristan alone.

“Hey, I wanted to thank you, Yami,” Tristan started. “You saved Yugi from being beaten by Ushio. You didn’t have to but you did.”

"It was nothing, Tristan." Of course it was nothing. It's not like his blood went cold and his eyes only saw red when Ushio pushed Yugi towards a cubicle and he saw Yugi hit his head on the toilet. It was nothing. It's not like he had a mini heart attack when Yugi lost consciousness. "Anyone would've done it."

Tristan crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, "Anyone would've faced Ushio head on in closed quarters? You're kidding right?"

Yami breathed out his chuckle. "Well, you guys would. And I'm pretty sure my cousins would just for the fun of it," he joked.

Tristan shook his head. “We haven’t faced Ushio head on yet. We haven’t had the opportunity yet, so I don’t think we could ever face him. Hey, at least they'll be doing the world a service if they did," Tristan laughed. "But seriously, Yami. Thanks for what you did. I know you got suspended for it, because the teachers here are whacked in the head or something. But people would've been too late if you weren't there."

"Really, Tristan," Yami said, "It was nothing."

"Yeah, but you even got suspended for it. And to be honest, I bet you wouldn't have been in that freak accident if you weren't suspended."

Yami shrugged. "I was doing what I thought was right. And besides, my cousin was able to cover for my hospital bills and called the school to excuse me for everything. I think he probably scared the principal to do it," he chuckled.

“You were doing what you thought was right. You sound like Yugi for a sec there.” He chuckled then walked closer to the counter. “How much work did you miss?” the brunet asked as he leaned over the counter to take a peek.

Yami’s shoulders dropped. “Too much. Yugi’s helping me catch up though.”

“Yeah. Who better right? He was always the smart one in the group. You remember that time you got Joey suspended for not helping in the project?” he asked with a chuckle. “Don’t worry, I’m not mad. Someone was bound to rat Joey out for that sooner or later. But anyways, Yugi helped Joey with the project alongside ours and we all still passed. And you remember, that teacher was an asshole for giving us so much shit to do. A book report, a diorama, and a fucking ten-page essay for it too, and of course, a presentation to boot.”

“I don’t understand. Why doesn’t Joey just do the work?” Yami asked, already ignoring his work to talk to Tristan.

“Well, Joey has a very short attention span. And I’m saying this with all the love for my friend,” he laughed. “Even he admitted to it. Aside from that, I think he was disappointed to not be paired with either me or Yugi. It takes a special kind of person to get used to Joey. I should know, we practically grew up together.” Tristan was pleasantly surprised at how easily he was talking with Yami. The teen reminded him too much of his tri-color haired best friend. He shook his head and chuckled as he remembered all the times Joey would complain about their best friend’s darker look alike.

Yami tilted his head in confusion as he watched Tristan laugh at something. “What is it?”

“Oh nothing. You’re far from what Joey would describe you. Although, I should expect that since Joey tends to overreact and he also likes to stick to first impressions,” he laughed off. “Well, then there are other factors as to why he’s annoyed with you, but if I were you I’d just ignore it. Joey has his own problems and I’m pretty sure you do too, so I don’t think you should bother yourself with what he thinks.”

Yami pouted. Honestly, he really cared what Joey thought of him. It would be easier for everyone involved. “A special kind of person?” he asked, remembering what Tristan said.

Tristan made a note of Yami’s pout but thought of it later. “Yeah. I’m used to him, because we grew up together. Tea is a strong girl who knows how to command herself so she knows how to deal with Joey’s attitude. As for Yugi, well, he’s just a genuinely nice and friendly person back in primary school. You know the real reason why Ushio keeps targeting Yugi?” He wasn’t sure why he was talking to Yami like this but the teen really hasn’t done anything to him and he seems to be a really cool guy and not as hostile as Joey seem to think.

Yami shook his head. “Why?”

“Aside from you, the only other person who is stupidly brave enough to face Ushio in a fight is Yugi. Yugi defended Joey and me when Ushio beat us to a pulp back in freshman year. A lot of people ignored us, but Yugi? He ran to our aid and even shielded us from the big gorilla.” Tristan narrated. “I was shocked because I used to bully Yugi back in primary school along with Joey, but there he was running to our rescue. He even took a beating from Ushio before the teachers found us. Well back then, he didn’t know how to fight so he just took the beating. From that moment on, Joey has practically pledged his loyalty and friendship to Yugi.”

Yami’s eyes went wide. He hadn’t known about that. Then again, he just moved to Japan that year and had other stuff to deal with. “I hadn’t known about that.” He looked over to the door leading to the residential part of the building where Yugi was. He used to be a sweet and caring person, but something changed. “Joey doesn’t bother me. Whatever happened between us is in the past and if he chooses to still be affected by it, then there’s really nothing I can do. But I guess I’m glad that he has genuine friends despite his misgivings.” And he really was. He could only imagine what kind of person Joey would be if he didn’t have friends like Yugi, Tristan, and Tea to berate him and put him in the right direction when he loses his way.

Tristan nodded. “Joey is very overprotective of Yugi because of that, actually. I mean, yeah I’m his best friend too, his oldest friend, like how Tea is Yugi’s oldest friend, but Yugi was the one that despite being bullied by Joey, was still genuinely nice to him and was willing to do all that for him. Honestly, that’s why all three of us are overprotective of him. He’s just too nice for his own good that we know that there will be people who will take advantage of that.”

Yami smiled. Finally, an explanation. “I’m sure Yugi appreciates that.”

The brunet couldn’t help but let out a laugh. “Oh if only he did. I’m pretty darn sure he’s annoyed by it. I mean, hell I would be if they were _that_ overprotective. I hear things. And I know people call us Yugi’s own personal Avengers team.”

The other teen blinked. “You know about that?”

“Yeah. It’s kinda my thing, you know? I’m good with hearing things. I pretend I’m not paying attention, but in reality, I hear what people say. It’s easier to hear things when people don’t know you’re listening.” Tristan winked evilly at Yami then chuckled. “So anyways, I guess Yugi is okay and in one piece. There was a time wherein Yugi went home alone and he got beat up pretty badly and he never told us until we eventually found out. We’re trying to avoid that, especially with Ushio done with his community service.”

That was a surprise to Yami. “How do you know about these things? I didn’t even know that Ushio is doing community service right now.”

The other teen laughed again. “I told you, I’m good with listening around. I’m not necessarily a gossip, but I’m more aware of my surroundings.”

Yami took note of that little information. He didn’t want Tristan to hear his conversations with his cousins about him and Yugi. He was already doing good progress with winning Tristan over, sorta. That’s one person from Yugi’s circle of friends that he can count on, hopefully.

“I hope you guys weren’t talking about me while I was away” Yugi said as he entered the shop with an amused smirk.

“Oh don’t worry, Yugi. I didn’t tell Yami about the time you had to dance shirtless in one of your hip hop dance recital and since your instructor had a sense of humor, they made you guys dance Magic Mike style,” Tristan said with a smirk.

“TRISTAN!” Yugi scolded while his face went beet red at the memory. Also, Tristan picked the wrong person to tell that story to.

Meanwhile, Yami suddenly pictured Yugi in the way Tristan had described and he couldn’t help but raise and eyebrow and smirk at his smaller look alike. That’s a nice image of Yugi. “You must have a picture of that, Tristan, you know, for blackmail purposes.”

“Oh yes I do!” Tristan said excitedly, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

“Show him that photo and I will show the picture of your second year summer job,” Yugi threatened.

The brunet chuckled nervously. “Okay, you win. Sorry, Yami. But that photo is Yugi’s trump card on me.” He then turned back to his best friend, “I’ll leave you guys to your work. Oh by the way, Yugi, can you send me how much I owe the shop? I’m getting my paycheck next week.”

Yugi nodded, “Okay I’ll keep that in mind.” He then waved goodbye as Tristan left the shop.

When any sign of the brunet was gone, Yami smirked and walked closer to Yugi and bit the smaller teen’s ear lightly. “So… Magic Mike huh?” he teased.

Yugi froze in his place and blushed heavily. “That was a long time ago. Get your mind out of the gutter, Yami. We still have a lot of stuff to work on.”

“Okay, okay. Tristan’s a cool guy,” Yami tried again. He really wasn’t much of a fan of taking Yugi away from his friends. He knew Malik meant well, but it didn’t seem fair for Joey and the others if he just stole Yugi away from them, especially after his little chat with Tristan. So maybe he could try a different approach.

“He’s a good friend,” Yugi replied simply. “He knows how to pick up rumours and also knows how to kill them. He’s loyal but also doesn’t take sides.”

Yami pouted but made sure not to show it to Yugi. He hadn’t expected Yugi to answer that way when it came to his friends. The taller teen expected Yugi to be more animated and talk more about Tristan and the rest of his friends but he didn’t. He tried again. “How did you guys meet?”

“I met him at Primary school. We only became friends during the start of high school.”

Yugi stopped the conversation and went back to doing his homework which made Yami frustrated.

Whatever topic Yami planned to talk about never started when the shop door opened revealing Kisara’s very drenched look. “Damn this rain!” She folded her umbrella and closed the door with a scowl.

It was only then that the two teens realized the sudden downpour outside. When did that happen?

“Hey, sissy. I thought you were staying overnight at your office?” Yugi asked.

Kisara dumped her stuff at the back before returning to the counter where the two teens were. She leaned on the wall and gave out a sigh before speaking. “Building has leaks. I called my contractor about it and he told me they’ll fix it once the rain stops. I can’t exactly stay there right now. I had to drag a lot of tarp to cover the majority of the furniture I had moved there.” She folded her legs as she slowly sank to the floor in exhaustion. “So what’s happening with you guys?” She asked her eyes closed.

“You couldn’t stay in a hotel?” Yugi asked ignoring his sister’s question.

Kisara opened one eye and raised an eyebrow, “What’s up with you?”

“You said you were staying overnight at your office.”

Kisara chuckled softly until she let out a full laugh. She sank down to the floor, wrapping her arms around her sides as she tried to recover from her giggles. She looked at her brother’s frustrated expression and calmed down. “You’re pissed because I just cockblocked you?” She asked. When Yugi didn’t give an answer she laughed again before standing up and taking out her headphones. “Don’t worry, baby brother. I have noise-cancelling headphones to tune you out tonight.”

Yugi let out a sigh and chuckled too. That was unexpected. “Why do you have noise-cancelling headphones?”

“I have gay dads who are still in their physical primes and are _very_ sexually active. You kinda need to have one to fall asleep at night.” She winked at the two and gathered her stuff to get ready to go back in the residential part of the building. “You guys want anything for dinner?”

“Anything you cook is fine, sissy,” Yugi replied. “We’ll close up by seven and head on up.”

Kisara nodded and disappeared at the back to start cooking.

 

* * *

 

 Twin groans were heard in Yugi’s bedroom as they released at the same time. Yugi collapsed on his bed and Yami was on top of him. They were panting hard, trying to catch their breath as they recovered from their activities. Yami wrapped his arms around Yugi as he slowly pulled out. He heard a frustrated groan from the teen below him and he couldn’t help but chuckle.

“You want _more_?” Yami asked in a teasing manner as he nibbled on Yugi’s earlobe.

“You’re kidding right?” Yugi replied between pants. They just finished their fourth round. Yami had been rougher than normal, not that he wanted to complain. Mr. Prim and Proper just let out a different and darker side of him and Yugi loved it. “Even I can tell you’re tired, Yami.” Yugi was struggling with his fatigue.

“Why can’t I get enough of you?” Yami asked.

Yugi, forgetting about his fatigue, blinked at Yami. “What?”

Yami settled beside Yugi and wrapped his arms around the other one’s waist and pulled him closer to him. He hummed as he reveled in how at peace he was. He felt the other lace his fingers around his neck and let out a big sigh of contentment against his naked chest. The hot air made Yami shiver in delight and he pulled the teen even closer. He liked this part of their night. They never really established a No Cuddling rule after sex, and he was thankful that Yugi gave this moment of intimacy to him. Granted, Yugi hadn’t explicitly said they could cuddle, and fortunately, he never said they couldn’t either. And no one else got this opportunity other than Yami.

He wasn't sure hat triggered him. Maybe the knowledge about Yugi's date with Tea did it since it was the last thought he had in his mind before he spoke. Or maybe it was the moment. The crimson-eyed teen felt the deep breaths of Yugi and he sighed out the words that he not only didn’t mean to let out but will also haunt him through the night. And he started having this need to flee.

“You’re mine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How did you guys like the "game night" scene? I hope I was able to do it justice. I'm planning to make more scenes like that just to showcase the characters in their gamer mode. I will show a Duel Monsters game scene in the other chapters too which should be interesting. 
> 
> Date night for Yugi and Tea? This should be interesting...  
> I showed a little bit of the other side of everything through Tristan's POV. This marks the start of me showing the POVs of Yugi's friends, and Seto as well, since I know it wasn't fair to give them such a bad light during the start of the fic, I never intended them to be such shit people all throughout the fic anyways. Please tell me what you guys think as always.
> 
> Will update soon!


	7. New Escalations

"I never pegged you as a 'Wham, bam thank you, ma'am' type of person, Yami." The voice stopped the red-eyed teen on his tracks. He backed away slowly as he saw the white-haired girl sitting on the kitchen counter with a bowl of popcorn on her lap. Her headphones still covering her ears. Across from her was the dining table with her laptop, a shot glass and a bottle of bourbon. Her eyes were filled with amusement and a bit of concern. "What’s the rush? Grandpa’s not coming back here after he’s done with his Saturday classes at the university. He’ll go straight to the airport for his flight to Egypt after his last lecture. You don’t have to leave so soon. Didn’t Yugi tell you that?" she asked as she removed her noise-cancelling headphones and left them around her neck. The presence of the taller tri-colored hair teen meant that the cries of passion are gone and it was safe to remove them.

Yami blinked then sighed. His mind was racing and so was his heart, the last words he said in the bedroom still bouncing in his brain. When he knew Yugi was already in deep sleep, he carefully removed himself from their previous position so he could put his clothes on and run. He only got into his pants and shirt before running out the door to get his bag. Yami placed his school jacket that he was holding and dumped it on top of his bag before going back to the dining area where Kisara was. He took the chair that was across from the girl on the dining table and buried his head on the table. "I said something so stupid tonight, and I'm hoping that Yugi didn't hear a single word from it," he muttered. Why did he say that? This is Yugi’s sister he was talking to. But he needed to say it, his mind was already a bumbling mess and he couldn’t help himself.

Kisara hummed in acknowledgement then gracefully jumped off the counter. She sat the popcorn down on the table and went back to her original seat on the table as she looked at her laptop. "Popcorn? I'm waiting for my little pet project to finish compiling so I can do some tests. It's been an hour and I'm still stuck at ten percent. I've got some time to burn. Wanna talk about your feelings towards my brother?" she poured herself a shot of bourbon and let the liquid burn down her throat. She offered the bowl of popcorn to the teen.

"No thanks, both for the popcorn and the talk," Yami scoffed. He wasn't going to spill his guts tonight, especially to the one who, according to Yugi, has gone through so much therapy, she already knew how to dance her questions around her target to get the answers she's looking for.

"Will you reconsider if I let you take a shot?" she offered the empty shot glass to him.

The teen raised an eyebrow at her. "You're condoning under-aged drinking?"

"I'm not your parent, Sennen. I'm your slam piece's older sister. So are you gonna take the shot or not?"

"Yugi is my friend not my 'slam piece' as you lovingly call it. I'm surprised you see him that way. Isn't he supposed to be your brother?" She's just as crass as her brother, if not more. “I care about him a lot to even consider him that way.” The female just raised a delicate eyebrow at him and gave a soft giggle.

“Interesting how you see him that way,” she commented.

After she spoke, Yami realized the gravity of his own words. She got him. Damn she was good. Yugi wasn’t joking when he said she knew how extract information out of people.

Yami was still a bit on edge.

_You're mine._

Those words still echoed in his ears. Where did that come from? Why did he say it? Did Yugi even hear it? Oh gods. What if he did? The teen started to scramble his brain for all possible scenarios that could happen if Yugi did hear him say it. None of them gave the teen relief. Yugi was a wildcard, even before. Words of affection would sometimes slip from the little one's lips but they instantly become meaningless when he adds a crude comment. Those instances played at Yami's heartstrings and not in a good way.

Would Yugi push away? But the little one buried himself to his chest deeper after Yami spoke those words. Maybe he felt the same. When Yami wrapped his arms tighter around Yugi, the little one didn't push away, he demanded to be closer when he clung to the taller one's forearms and pulled him closer.

The girl giggled again, which brought the teen out of his dazed state, and turned back to her computer, hearing the fan buzz softly, signaling its exhaustion. She let the teen in front of her collect his bearings. She didn't want to actually talk about anything, but she knows how much it would hurt her brother if he found out that Yami had fled without saying good bye. She's been around her brother's life long enough to see the light in the two look-alikes' eyes when they're in each other's presence. But she really didn’t want to pry with her brother’s personal life too much, she already knew that she was overstepping on too many occasions, it was only luck on her part that Yugi hadn’t asked her to back off in a very serious tone.

Yami eyed the shot glass then winced. There was no way he's going to get plastered, not with his lopsided feelings present, add the girl in front of her who’s the master of getting answers from him so flawlessly it should be illegal. "I guess I'll take the popcorn," he answered. He studied the white-haired elder sibling, the only features that made her resemble the sleeping figure in the bedroom was her pale skin and the seemingly innocent aura. Like his look alike, she had a rounded face and big eyes that had a glint of mischief hidden within.

Kisara shifted her position to face the teen and pushed the bowl of buttered popcorn closer to him. She faintly remembered her psychology class. _Make them say yes to a small offer and there’s a higher chance they will say yes to your bigger request._

"I called Yugi mine before he drifted off to sleep. I'm praying to every god I know that he didn't hear it," he said as he took a handful of the snack.

The girl took another shot then rested her chin on the ball of her hand. _This should be interesting._ "Not comfortable with pillow talk, are we?" she smirked.

Trying his best to filter what he said, Yami could only stutter, "It wasn't...I'm not...He doesn't...I don't even think..." he groaned, "We've been going at it for so long, but neither of us ever...really...you know..."

The girl nodded in acknowledgement, "I know. I've been there before," she muttered mostly to herself.

The comment didn't escape the boy's ears, "You have?"

A moment of shock pass through the cerulean eyes before it was glazed over with a bored facade. She nodded and chose her words carefully, very carefully, "It wasn't a long time ago that I used to be a teen. Hormones and everything. So... Have you had enough of him yet?" _Damn it_. She needed to stop talking right now and let the other person in the room talk.

Yami blinked as he let the words sink in. Has he had enough of Yugi? No. In fact, he couldn't get enough of him, that was the problem. Before he could answer the question, Kisara spoke again, "Sorry, that came out wrong.” There was no remorse on her face. “What I mean is, have you had enough with the meaningless sex?"

"Actually...yeah..." was all the teen could say. He took another handful of popcorn, trying to distract himself. _What the fuck am I doing telling her everything?_

"Dating is fun," she stated as if it was a _completely_ different topic. It wasn't a question. And the teen was suddenly in an awkward situation as he suddenly showed all of his cards on the table to the blue-eyed sibling who looked uninterested since her eyes were glued to her monitor.

_She could empty out a casino in Vegas._

"I...I...I..." Yami couldn't get a word out as he heard the words for himself.

"Am stuttering," Kisara said.

Glaring, the teen huffed. "I know Yugi. Even his friends say he’s not the dating or romantic type. He won't want anything serious, or if he did, I doubt he'd want one with me. We're too..."

"Too perfect for each other?" Kisara teased.

"No..." Yami glared at her again, "We're too involved with each other and we clash too much. A relationship with each other is already a wreck ready to happen."

She rolled her eyes before taking another shot. The blue-eyed girl kept quiet but her face told everything. One thing she noticed about the teen in front of her was that he was ready to spill when his brain was swimming. She didn’t need to speak much.

"Well...we never really started out as friends. Sex is the only thing that we agree on. We only got close because of sex. We don’t even belong in the same social circles," he muttered. He kept his voice low and Yugi's bedroom door in his peripheral vision. If the little one didn't hear his words of possessiveness, he's going to make sure he didn't hear this conversation either.

Yami's still confused as to why he was spilling his guts to Yugi's sister. He could've talked to his father, he made a mental note to spill to his father during his next phone call. His cousins? He already scoffed at the thought. There was no way, those three would understand, they knew about his little rendezvous with Yugi, they never judged him, but they would never fully understand. They were being supportive, but that wasn’t enough. He could talk to Yugi, but then again, this little snippet of his life involved said teen. Now, his only choice was a girl he barely knew.

"So I can’t ask him on a date. We can't even if we both wanted to."

"Why the fuck not?" she whined. Between her brother's lover and her slow laptop that's only thirty percent finished, one of them will be smashed by her hands at her frustration. She poured herself another shot then ate more popcorn. The alcohol dulling her senses was doing wonders to her headache and frustration. It was also removing her filter if her little slip up earlier was anything to go by.

"Well for one, we can't go out in public. No one in our high school knows we're..."

"Taking each other up the ass?" she supplied, it was the alcohol talking now, she was sure of that.  _Shut up!_ She berated herself.

Yami cleared his throat at her statement, "No one knows we're close. I don't think people know we consider each other friends. We don't even sit beside each other in class or sit on the same table during lunch.” The crimson-eyed teen sighed deeply and stared at Yugi's bedroom door, it was still closed, he then turned to Yugi's sister, her face was unreadable. _Whoa. And I thought I was the master of hiding emotions._ Her features were calm, and boredom was painted on her plain as day. Her eyes became a flat blue color, devoid of every emotion. A true poker face. He only ever saw an expression like that from his cousin, Seto.

Kisara’s eyes darted to her brother's bedroom door when she heard muffled footsteps. "Well then, have it your way. I do suggest you think hard and fast about this," she said simply before putting on her usual smiling face. She had to control herself from rolling her eyes. If these two would be as honest and open with each other they way they do when they’re talking to her, this _thing_ going on between them that’s stopping them would cease to exist. Then again, she was just as bad with talking about her feelings as they were. Maybe she should follow her own advice too.

Before Yami could have time to think, Yugi's bedroom door opened and the boy graced the two with his presence. He only had his light blue pajama bottoms and a black tank top. He bounded down the stairs and sat beside his sister, his eyes were still closed. Kisara kissed the top of his head and grabbed her bowl of popcorn towards him.

After scratching his eyes to rid him the rest of his sleep, he acknowledged the taller teen, "Oh hey, Yami. You stayed." His voice was still hoarse from sleep which helped mask his delight at the fact that Yami didn't run as usual. He grabbed the bowl of popcorn and started munching. "It's friggin three in the morning, Kisara. Why are you still awake?" he eyed the half empty bottle of bourbon and his sister's laptop, "And drinking nonetheless. You drink while you work?"

"I brainstorm drunk. It makes me think out of the box," Kisara clarified. She eyed her laptop, fifty percent. She made a note to buy a wireless router for their house so she could work in her room. As much as she loved her brother, she didn’t want to butt in in his own personal problems unless he asked her to.

"I'm glad you stayed, Yami," Yugi blurted out before he could think. His longing oozed out of his voice as he spoke the words.

The taller teen's cheeks darken with a blush and thanked the dim lights were able to hide it. Stupid words like that made his heart flutter, made him hope, made him long. "I don't see any reason why I should leave, Yugi," he answered coolly which awarded him a blushing Yugi. Of course the fact that he was fully dressed and ready to leave didn’t exactly support his case.

Meanwhile, Kisara was biting her lips and doing her best not to chuckle at the two teens. Seeing them tiptoe around each other was too entertaining and awkward for her. She narrowed her eyes at her laptop. The little shit needs to run faster so she can leave the two hormonal and emotional boys to their teen angst. Yeah, a wireless router is _seriously_ needed.  They remind her too much of her past.  _No need to open that can of worms._

Yami broke her train of thought when he yawned.

Yugi stood up and went to the other teen's side, "Let's go back to bed. I'm still sleepy too." The other teen nodded and wrapped on arm around the smaller one's shoulders. Yugi instantly leaning into him as if it's a natural reaction.

Before they reach the stairs, Kisara spoke, "Do I need to put on my headphones again?"

Her brother flipped her off and she just laughed out loud.

When they were back in Yugi's room the shorter teen didn't dare to look at the other boy. "I'm going back to bed," his voice was blank, emotionless.

The emptiness made Yami wince. He looked at himself, he was fully clothed, ready to run. He felt the urge to explain himself. To lie to Yugi. _Shit._

Before Yami could speak, Yugi was already curled up in bed, his back still to him. "I don’t suggest you sleep in you pants, Yami. It’s very uncomfortable," Yugi whispered.

Yugi kept his eyes closed. Yami was going to run. Again. Almost. But he knew that it was thanks to his sister that Yami didn't leave. He made a mental note to thank her once Yami leaves in the morning. His heartbeat was rapid, his breathing was even. It's like he was having an asthma attack without the risk of losing his life. He kept his eyes closed and kept his breathing even to make it look like he was already asleep. He felt an arm around his waist and a naked chest against his back. He didn't move. He didn't want to. He felt Yami tuck his chin on shoulder, Yami's breath on his skin. He felt. He didn't want to.

There was still one thing he wasn’t sure of. Did Yugi hear him earlier?

 

* * *

 

 

Blue eyes stared at her reflection as she looked over herself. Biting her lip, she combed through her brown hair again and flatten out an invisible crease on her red tube top, then she fussed over her black skirt as if she saw a stain. Tea stared at her dresser at the numerous accessories she has that she’s been taking off and putting on over and over again. Rubbing her temples with her fingers, she took a seat at the nearby chair and concentrated at breathing.

She wasn’t exactly sure why she agreed to go on a date with Yugi. But then again, this wasn’t technically a date. But she was sure as hell that she didn’t want Yugi to go on a date with Mana. The girl was just too touchy with him and that just wouldn’t do.

The sound of her doorbell made her come out of her thoughts and, throwing caution to the wind, she put on the first pieces of jewelry she was able to grab on her dresser. Tea ran down the stairs and opened the front door and what greeted her made her gasp. Yugi was wearing a deep purple button-down shirt with the first three top buttons undone. His legs looked longer in his fitted black leather pants and he wore a kind friendly smile as he held out a singular blue rose to her.

“You ready for our date?” Yugi asked.

Tea took the blue rose from Yugi, “Yeah. A blue rose?”

Yugi shrugged. “I was passing by that little flower shop we used to pass by after dance class. I remembered how you kept telling me that you want someone to give you blue roses during dates or Valentines Day. So I bought one for today.”

The brunette blushed. She hadn’t thought Yugi would bother or even remember something like that. “Thanks, Yugi. I like it.” She locked her door and was about to ask her best friend where they were off to when she noticed that Yugi had a car door open for her. As she got in the vehicle she couldn’t help but blush again. “You got us a cab?”

Yugi narrowed his eyes playfully at Tea, “Well, yeah, I did. It’s too sunny right now, so I figured we take a cab going there so you don’t get sweaty and uncomfortable.”

Tea smiled and nodded at Yugi.

The cab ride took a bit longer than usual because of the traffic, but the two were able to just talk about anything while in the car. They were able to avoid the topic about the awkwardness they were feeling at the moment since they were in fact in a date. Tea eventually asked Yugi, “Where are we going?”

“I got reservations at Paradiso Bohemia,” Yugi replied.

Blue eyes widen at the news. “You did?” Tea asked, surprised.

Yugi nodded. “Yup. I met the owner’s daughter in one of my dueling tournaments and I called in a favor. She works as a maitre’d there right now as her training before taking over the business when she graduates.”

“Isn’t that a bit too pricey for a high school student’s budget, Yugi?”

The teen just shrugged. “It’s fine. I know that you’ve been dying to go there, so I called my friend to get us a good table near the dance floor.”

“You’re taking me dancing?”  _Stop asking questions and enjoy it!_ She scolded herself.

“Yeah. Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do in a date? Take your date to do something they want to do?”

Tea was speechless. She hadn’t really expected Yugi to take the date so seriously to the point that he’d give her flowers, well a flower, and take her to do something she wanted to do. She only expected Yugi to take her to the mall or some restaurant for lunch then walk around the park. She took note of Yugi’s appearance as well. She rarely saw Yugi not wearing a black tank top. He still wore his belt choker and leather wrist cuffs but he looked sleek and cool with them.

Before she knew it, they had already arrived at the restaurant.

Paradiso Bohemia was a restaurant with a dancefloor and a different local DJ every week. The two were greeted by a girl with long wavy black hair and dark grey, almost black eyes. “Hey, Yugi!” she greeted excitedly as she saw the couple.

“Hey, Crystal,” Yugi waved. “This is Tea. Tea, this is the friend I told you about, Crystal. Her father owns the place.”

“Hi, Tea,” the girl greeted sweetly and gave her hand out to shake.

“Hi,” Tea answered, a little uncomfortable knowing that Yugi had other female friends aside from her. She got a reassuring smile from Yugi but ignored it, instead, she kept her eyes trained at the raven-haired girl who accompanied them inside. She jumped when Yugi held her hand. Tea looked at the nonthreatening smile of Yugi and let him lead her to their table. When they were seated, she kept her eyes at Crystal who didn’t seem to notice it and just kept looking at the table making sure it was nice and clean.

“I’ll let you guys have our appetizer sampler. It’s on the house,” Crystal said as she squeezed Yugi’s shoulder. “Your server will be here shortly,” she nodded at them before leaving.

“Did you guys go out or something?” Tea huffed.

Yugi tilted his head at the side in confusion. “What?” Then realization hit him, “Oh! Crystal and me? Nope.”

“Then why is she so touchy with you?” she complained. This was supposed to be _their_ date and Crystal should stay out of it.

Yugi pursed his lips. “She is? I haven’t noticed. And besides, Crystal is a senior in college, Tea. I don’t think she’ll be interested in me.” He shrugged and looked at the menu. “She says that the DJ will arrive in half an hour. They’re just using some generic playlist right now.”

“I don’t mind the music right now,” she replied.

“I should hope so. I asked Crystal if she could play a specific playlist for me.” Yugi smiled at Tea and showed her his phone. “I remember you showing me a playlist you made on Spotify and I asked Crystal if she could play it until the DJ arrived.”

Tea went wide-eyed. Another thing about her date with Yugi that surprised her. “Oh? Thanks, Yugi. I didn’t realize that.” She started taking note of the song that was playing and true enough it was in the playlist she created on her account.

“Yeah well, you’re very particular with your music. Have you looked at the menu?”

Tea shook her head. She was too busy studying Yugi carefully. She had known of Yugi’s little crush on her, but she always doubted that it was there mostly because he has never made the first move. Now, she was considering that maybe Yugi does have a thing for her, maybe a little. A little is enough for Yugi to take note of the things she liked. The blue rose, the choice of restaurant, even the music playing. Yugi took note of all that.

The server, a girl, approached them with a tray filled with food. “Hi, guys, my name’s Lili and I’ll be your server for tonight. Here’s your Paradise Sampler on the house.” She placed the big tray in the middle of their table which contained onion rings, mozzarella sticks, fried calamari, and jalapeno poppers. “Are you guys ready to order?”

Yugi nodded over to Tea so she could order first. “I’ll have the seafood pasta.”

Lili nodded as she wrote the order, “Drinks?”

“Lemonade.”

“Alrighty, and how about you, cutie?” she beamed her blue eyes and tucked her curly blonde hair behind her ear at Yugi who had his eyes glued to his menu. Tea didn’t miss the flirty smile and the way Lili swayed her body towards Yugi, which, to her surprise, irked her.

“Burger and fries for me. And a Coke for my drink, extra ice please.” He handed the menu to the server and kept his eyes at Tea.

“Okay then. Don’t hesitate to call me should you need anything,” Lili said before heading towards the kitchen. Tea noticed how Lili looked right at Yugi when she said “anything” in a suggestive way.

“Honestly,” Tea grumbled.

“What is it, Tea?” Yugi asked, a bit concerned.

“Doesn’t that girl realize that you’re on a date with me?” she complained.

Yugi blinked. “What girl? Crystal?”

“No. That waitress. She’s been flirting with you, can’t you tell?” Even Joey and Tristan wouldn’t be able to miss when a girl would blatantly flirt with them. Hell, they’ll even enjoy the attention, based on what the girls they’ve dated had told her.

“She was flirting? I thought she was just being nice. I mean, wait staff are supposed to be nice to diners right?” Yugi pursed his lips in a pout. He wasn’t exactly focusing on anything during the date. He felt like he was just in autopilot. The whole demo-date isn’t something he was comfortable about but he did make sure that Tea would enjoy herself, at least, even though he was spacing out most of the time. If Tea was having too much fun, then she wouldn’t notice that his heart wasn’t in this date at all.

Yugi’s eyes spotted the stage, “Oh hey, the DJ’s here. And the place is getting a bit crowded now.”

Tea looked behind her and saw that there were people setting up at the stage. Her eyes brighten with excitement. “I heard the DJs here are awesome, Yugi. We should totally go dancing!”

“That’s why I picked this place, Tea. I knew you’d enjoy yourself.”

His friend smiled at him. When the music started playing, people started walking over the dancefloor. Tea was about to invite Yugi to dance when Crystal walked over to their table. Tea couldn’t help but scowl at the raven-haired girl.

“Go enjoy the dancefloor, guys. I’ve got your table covered,” she smiled and placed a Reserved sign on their table.

“Thanks, Crystal,” Yugi flashed his bright smile at her which made the dark-haired girl blush.

“Anything for you, Yugi,” she laughed and winked before walking away.

Tea scowled again as she stood up to take Yugi’s hand so they could walk to the dancefloor. “What was that about?” she sneered.

“Crystal’s a friend, Tea. We’re not dating. I faintly remember that she’s dating someone when we last met and she was utterly obsessed with him so I don’t think she’s going to be interested in me.” Yugi chuckled.

Once Tea was satisfied, she and Yugi started to dance to the music. Yugi kept a safe distance from her as they danced. There was a constant smile on her face and he was thankful that she hadn’t noticed how he was unusually quiet as they danced. Because of her skills, people started dancing around Tea and admiring her skills. Yugi shuffled a little further away from Tea so she could have her time under the spotlight. Tea glanced at his direction and he gave her a reassuring smile and she just laughed in delight of being the center of attention on the dancefloor.

After a few more songs, they eventually went back to their table where their food was already waiting for them. Tea kept talking about her high from dancing and how much she missed it. Being the student council president and a part of the volleyball varsity team didn’t exactly give her time to go back to dancing. She also had her part time job during Fridays so she could get extra money for when she goes to New York. They talked about her plans after college and she happily obliged.

When dinner was done, Tea had to repress her growl as the server tried to push Yugi about “dessert” and she was sure that the girl didn’t mean food. When Yugi asked her if she wanted any, she declined saying that they should be heading home. After Yugi paid, they exited the restaurant but Tea had to fight for Yugi’s attention yet again when Crystal waved at them. Thankfully, Yugi just gave a curt goodbye before they headed for her place. Yugi kept asking things about her, about her work on the student council, how she keeps up with her dancing, how she’s keeping up with her studies and just everything about her. Tea was happy enough to answer all of his questions and sometimes throw some anecdotes that would make him smile.

She didn’t even realize that they already reached her place. Yugi walked her to her doorstep.

“Thank you so much for today, Yugi. I had so much fun. I don’t think I can remember the last time I had this much fun,” she sighed happily.

“Well, I’m glad,” Yugi replied, rubbing the back of his head. “I just remembered everything you said about things you liked. What kind of a date would I be if I brought you somewhere you wouldn’t enjoy right? Besides, it helps that you’re my best friend so I know these things.”

For the nth time today, Tea blushed at Yugi’s words. That’s right. Yugi knew a lot of the things she liked and he had used that knowledge to make this date amazing. She wasn’t sure how to feel about that, but she was sure that she felt...adored that way. When Yugi nodded at her direction and turned to leave, Tea was brought out of her thoughts and she reacted quickly by reaching out to Yugi and kissing him at the cheek before rushing back to the safety of her house and closed the door. She leaned against the door and she sighed.

She was sure that she didn’t have the slightest attraction to Yugi. They were best friends. She would protect him from bullies. But then she would bring herself back to their date. That first time she saw him, with a blue rose, the same rose that she was still holding right now, and that boyish smile along with those large gem-like eyes looking at her. The sight made her heart leap in excitement. Her fingers grazed her lips. She just kissed Yugi at the cheek. He didn’t force himself on her. Not once did he do something inappropriate except hold her hand. She could faintly remember how soft Yugi’s skin felt on her lips, she then wondered what it would be like to kiss his lips.

Immediately, she shook her head and ran up to her room. She couldn’t have these kinds of thoughts about Yugi. He was her best friend. He wasn’t exactly her ideal guy. She opened her diary and a yearbook photo of Yami fell from the pages. She picked it up and chuckled at how she got the photo. Because of her position in the student council, she was able to get a copy of the photo and it was now her diary’s bookmark. Yami was her ideal man. He was strong and had a very dominating presence compared to Yugi’s gentle aura. Yami was her man.

Not Yugi.

But then why was her heart beating so fast as she remembered his smile? She hadn’t noticed how amazingly beautiful Yugi’s eyes were. She shook her head and put the photo of Yami down. Tea changed her clothes and sat down on her desk where pictures of her friends were posted. There was one picture of her and Yugi with her arm draped around his shoulders. Despite what people believed, she knows of Yugi’s crush on her. She just doesn’t acknowledge it and pretends to be unaware about it. She never really understood why Yugi liked her while she couldn’t put herself to look at his direction. Looking at their photo together, Yugi had a big smile on his face, his eyes were twinkling. The quality of the photo didn’t do justice to how dazzling his eyes were. Tea then looked through the many photos of them so she could remember the way he looked at her, the way he would care for her. Joey and Tristan were caring friends but they were not like Yugi.

She also tried to remember when she had a crush on Yami Sennen. He looked so much like Yugi but he was more mysterious and alluring than her best friend. It was then that Tea realized something, that’s why she had a crush on Yami, because he looked like a more dominating version of Yugi.

The thought made her wince. It didn’t seem unfair to Yugi that she liked Yami after everything they’ve been through as friends. It seemed like a natural progression for her and Yugi to end up together after being friends for so long. But here she was pining over someone who didn’t give two shits about her and breaking her best friend’s heart in the process. Tea smiled when the truth of her feelings was revealed. She liked Yugi too.

She just hoped that she wasn’t too late.

 

* * *

 

 

The weekend flew by so fast that Yami already found himself en route to school. As he crossed the threshold of the school gates, he couldn’t help but think how did the weekend just pass so quickly. Then a scoff escaped his lips. His mind was elsewhere the whole weekend. Not only did Yugi drop the dreadful L-word on him, granted not in the way he had expected, but still. Plus, add the fact that he voiced out his possessiveness over the amethyst-eyed teen out loud to said teen. The teen whom he knew had very obvious commitment issues.

It was only when he gently bumped into a girl in front of him that he was taken out of his troubled thoughts. He suddenly noticed the ridiculous amount of girls peering inside his classroom. They were whispering and giggling about someone inside. Yami scowled and cleared his throat loudly and said “Excuse me” in a very dangerously low tone.

When the girls turned around, they blushed at the sight of Yami’s stoic face. They stepped away from his path and he entered his classroom to see a new face.

The guy had long black hair tied in a messy ponytail, his cat-like green eyes full of amusement as he talked to the group of girls who were crowding him. Yami looked at the new kid for a bit before rolling his eyes and taking his seat near the door. He put the volume up on his earbuds to drown out the giggles and gossip from the girls who will swoon over any new guy they find. He could faintly remember them crowding the classroom when Ryou Bakura transferred back in second year.

After a few more minutes, Yami spotted Yugi struggling through the crowd of girls by the doorway. Once Yugi got through, their eyes connected and Yugi gave a bright friendly smile and waved his way before his eyes darted a curious eye at the new guy. Yami’s eyes were glued to Yugi when he saw amethyst eyes widen in nervousness at whatever they were looking at. Yami turned to see what caused the distress in Yugi’s eyes and saw the new guy standing up and walking towards Yugi with a smirk on his face. Yami turned his music off and removed his earbuds to witness whatever it is that was going to happen and readied himself in case the guy plans on attacking Yugi.

“Hi there,” the new guy practically purred at Yugi. “My name is Duke Devlin. I’m new here. What’s your name?” He gave his hand out at Yugi and leaned a bit closer to him. The sway of his swips as he leaned forward was too fluid to be normal. Like he was trying to tantalize Yugi with his body language.

“Hi. I’m Yugi,” the smaller teen replied carefully. His eyes narrowed slightly, a sure sign of annoyance at the sudden invasion of his personal space.

“Good morning, Yugi!” Ryou chirped from the doorway. He sped towards Yugi’s side and latched onto his arm before heading towards where their seats were. “I need you to show me how you solved that problem in Statistics again!” he exclaimed as he ripped Yugi from Duke’s presence, evidently saving the smaller teen from being under the spotlight.

Yami let out a sigh of relief. Ryou always had impeccable timing. He chanced a glance at the new guy who was still looking at Yugi with a smirk. Yami took note of the desire that painted those green eyes and he couldn’t help but roll his own crimson ones. _Great. The new guy has a liking to Yugi._ It took everything he got not to let out a jealous growl at the new guy. Their eyes connected and there was devious glint in those green eyes. All signs of desire was gone, just deviousness. Yami raised an eyebrow in reply before looking away to put away his earbuds and music player in his bag.

Once the school bell rang, signaling the start of first period, everyone went to their seats and their homeroom teacher finally came in. She called out the new kid so he could introduce himself.

“Hi. My name is Duke Devlin. My dad and I moved here from America for his business, and mine. I like to play games and I like to create games too. I actually have a game in the works that I’m polishing. Other than that..well...I’m single.” He winked at the class but Yami scowled since he saw that Duke had his eyes at Yugi when he winked.

Yami had to control his emotions. But deep inside he really just wanted to run towards Yugi and force the smaller teen to sit on his lap and possessively wrap his arms around him. Fingers started to rub his right temple. What the hell was wrong with him? Ever since he found out about Tea’s date, he’s been on edge and has also been extra possessive over Yugi. The little tidbit of information triggered him last Friday night to proclaim Yugi as his. He suppressed his groan towards his patheticness. He seriously needed his painkillers right now.

Before he knew it, it was already third period and they were on their way to the computer room. When they went to their usual seats, Riviera-sensei gave them time again to work on their projects. Mondays were for the project while Thursdays and Fridays were for lectures.

Thanks to Kisara’s help, they were halfway done with the primary requirements and they were already considering on how to make the bonus points. Yami couldn’t help but think about Yugi and his date with Tea. He was scared that it would trigger Yugi’s old feelings for Tea. Yugi poked his shoulder and he stared with a lost face that made Yugi snicker.

“You okay?” Yugi asked.

_You’re mine._

Yami blinked rapidly then shook his head. “Sorry, Yugi. Just distracted, that’s all.”

Yugi chuckled. “You’re like me during my date with Tea,” Yugi admitted.

“Really?”

The smaller teen nodded. “Yeah. Well, I really wasn’t into the whole date thing. I’m just humoring her, if for nothing else. I kinda just made a day that I knew Tea would enjoy and maybe that could be a good distraction for her so she wouldn’t notice how not into the date I really was.”

“Maybe it’s because you wanted someone else to be on that date with you,” Yami replied. He kept his eyes on his work as he talked to Yugi so the other teen couldn’t see how hopeful he looked.

“Maybe,” Yugi lazily agreed. “I never really understood how dating works and how it’s different from just hanging out. I mean, when you hang out with friends, you do something fun, you eat maybe lunch or dinner and talk about stuff. In a date, the rules are similar.” He shook his head in frustration and pouted. “It’s so much easier when you play games. Instructions are clear and you know how to win and you know what you’re not supposed to do so you don’t lose. With dating… The rules and what you can and cannot do are so blurry.” He hit his keyboard a little too harsh when he hit the Enter key to open their website.

Yami couldn’t help but chuckle. “Easy, Yugi. No need to subject your keyboard to your frustrations.”

Yugi chuckled and they both went back to their original work. It was when they were laughing and poking fun that a shadow started to loom over them. The two looked up and saw Duke Devlin looking at them with a sly smile.

“Hi, Yugi,” he greeted.

“Oh. Hi, Duke. Can I help you?” Yugi put on his bored face as he looked at Duke.

“Well, I was wondering if I could join you and your friends for lunch. I mean, you’re friends with the SC president right?” He leaned over the computer table and flashed a smoldering gaze at Yugi that made Yami want to gag. Or more accurately, made Yami want to gag Duke and tie him up so he could throw him to the sea and never be found again. He wondered if Seto was willing to pay off the whole Domino City Police Department to look away from that crime if he promised to babysit Mokuba for a year.

“Well, actually, Tea has lunch with the volleyball varsity team every Monday so I won’t be seeing her for lunch today.”

“Wow. So you’re not the jealous boyfriend type,” Duke quipped.

Yugi snapped his head at Dukes direction, “What did you say?”

Duke smirked. “I said that you’re not the jealous boyfriend type. I know I would be if I had such a pretty girlfriend.”

“Tea’s my best friend not my girlfriend,” Yugi replied curtly.

Duke’s eyes widen then smirked at the amethyst-eyed teen. “Oh? When I heard you guys were dating, I was sure you guys were together. Does that mean _you_ are _single_?” He leaned forward slightly at Yugi making the other teen uncomfortable with the blatant invasion of his privacy.

Yami wanted to tear Yugi away from this guy, _again_. He was too close to Yugi physically. But he knew Yugi could handle himself if Duke got too close for comfort. He’d punch the green-eyed teen’s lights out and he’d be willing to vouch that he did it in pure self-defense.

_You’re mine._

The crimson-eyed teen gulped as he heard his words again. Although, Yugi must not have heard them if he was still so comfortable being so close to him.

“Actually, Yugi’s having lunch with me and Ryou and my cousins today.” Yami suddenly spoke out loud, frustration and annoyance evident in his voice.  _Yeah, take that, Devlin! He's spending time with me not you._  

Yugi blinked and then supplied the backstory. “I’m Yami’s partner in a lot of school projects and we have a lot of stuff to work on. So yeah, I’m having lunch with him today.”

“Oh, well, do you mind if I tag along?” Duke offered.

“Actually-” Yami started but was cut off by Yugi. He wanted to say that he can go fuck himself.

“Actually, Miho is part of the student council. She’s the PRO. She’ll be more than happy to accompany you. You’ll never miss her. She’s the only girl with a yellow ribbon on her ponytail,” Yugi answered immediately, not trusting Yami’s retort.

Before Duke could even respond, Yami shot up and waved at Miho who, since she also had a crush on Yami, rushed to their table. “You called?” she flashed a sweet smile, her eyes twinkling.

“Hey, Miho, Duke here is new and he wanted to be toured around with someone from the student council,” Yami motioned to Duke and Miho’s eyes went wide with excitement. “Seeing as you’re part of the council and our classmate too, I guess you’re perfect for the job.”

“Of course!” Miho chirped then turned to Duke. “Hi, I’m Miho. I’ll be glad to join you for lunch and give you a tour of the school.”

Not wanting to be rude, Duke gladly accepted the offer and he was instantly pulled towards Miho’s table. With this, Riviera-sensei decided that Duke would join Miho’s group for their project which made Yugi and Yami sigh in relief. They looked at each other and twin smirks were on their faces. They couldn’t help but chuckle at how they were able to escape Duke Devlin.

Before long, it was lunch time, and the two tricolor-haired teens, along with Ryou went out for lunch. Thankfully, Joey and Tristan weren’t there waiting, meaning they were sent to detention for lunch again. Bakura was there though, but Yami knew that his cousin was waiting for Ryou not him which made him smirk. During the many times that Ryou had joined them for lunch, Yami would notice the way Bakura would look at the gentle teen. He hadn’t pushed his cousin into talking, he’d been waiting for the perfect timing to drop the bomb on him. They all went up to their usual lunch spot up on the roof where Marik was waiting who had his eyes glued on his phone. Talking to Malik no doubt.

“So, Yugi, how was the date?” Ryou finally asked when they were all comfortably seated.

Yugi huffed. This question was bound to come up sooner or later. “It was fine. I took Tea to Paradiso Bohemia.”

Marik whistled, he just dropped his call with Malik. “You’ve got some class, shrimp, if you’re taking your girl to a place that pricey.” Lavender eyes shifted over to Yami and Marik’s eyebrows waggled teasingly.

“It was nothing. I knew the daughter of the owner.”

“You knew the daughter of the owner how?” Marik interrupted. This girl could be added trouble for his cousin and they didn’t need another person to fight for Yugi’s attention.

“I met her at a tournament,” Yugi then turned to his white-haired friend. “Ryou, you remember Crystal right?”

Brown eyes brightened at the realization. “You mean that cute girl we got to meet last summer that kept sticking with you during the whole tournament? Of course I did!” He then laughed after teasing Yugi which triggered the tricolor haired teen to blush. Of course, Ryou didn’t miss the fact that Yami looked distraught with the news.

Amethyst eyes narrowed slightly. “She’s four years older than us. I don’t think she’d be interested in me. She was just nice.

Ryou just giggled and looked at the others who were slightly relieved.

Yugi cleared his throat before going back to their original topic. “Anyways,  I chose that place because I knew Tea had been wanting to go there since she found out about it.” Yugi shrugged and took a bite from his lunch that Kisara had prepared for him. The bento she prepared tasted amazing. Beef misono with stir fried rice that she made the night before, a side of veggies, and a pair of tamago nigiri she woke up extra early to make. Kisara fixed his lunch in such a way to make it look like a bear made of beef snuggled in a bed of rice. She had cut up pieces of nori for the details.

“That was really sweet of you, Yugi. Did you take her dancing?” Ryou asked, ignoring the stares he got from the three cousins. He knew the three, Yami especially, wanted to know what happened during the date, and he was the only one who could ask about it without suspicion.

Yugi nodded. “Tea loves to dance. So I figured bringing her there would make her happy and she would enjoy herself. Although she kept asking me weird questions during the whole date. I seriously felt like I was being tested during the date. It was so unnerving.” He pouted as he took another bite of his food.

“So you didn’t enjoy yourself?”

“The food is good. Dancing was fun. So yeah, I guess I did enjoy the activities. The date itself was just so weird.”

“That’s a bummer,” Marik muttered.

Four eyes stared at him questioningly.

“Well, if you’re on a date, that’s kinda the time for you to enjoy each other’s company. And your date should be someone you have somewhat of an attraction to and the date should further that attraction for you both.”

Again, four eyes stared at him but this time, they all looked at him like he had three heads.

It was Bakura who broke the silence by laughing hard and swinging an arm around Marik’s neck. “Well, what do you know, Malik has made you into a softy, my dear cousin.”

“You know,” Ryou started. “I’ve heard a lot of girls talking about your date, Yugi.”

Yugi was taken aback by this. “You have?”

Ryou nodded. “Some of the girls would say that you guys are a couple now or something. But of course the whole thing died down when they saw the new student walking around the halls.”

“Hey, guys!” Mana chirped as she sat right next to Yugi by wedging herself between him and Yami. “Hey, Yugi! How nice of you to join us.”

“Hey, Mana…” Yugi greeted nervously. He’d forgotten how clueless Mana was when it came to personal space. “Don’t you have lunch with the varsity today?”

Meanwhile, Yami was ready to murder his first friend for being a literal wall between him and Yugi.

“Yeah, but we had to end early. Some of the players had to run to the computer lab to do their computer projects. They’re all behind on their work and our first checking is in two weeks.”

“And what about you?” Bakura asked as he peeked through Mana’s lunch bag.

“I’m done,” she answered simply, grabbing Bakura’s lunch and taking a bite out of the vegetable wrap.

“What?” was the collective response from the group.

Mana giggled. “I have my own blog and online store. I manage and built that site on my own. Sensei knows this too so he gave me a special project to help ‘challenge’ me.”

“So what was your assigned system?” Ryou asked.

Mana shrugged and took another bite of the wrap. “Okay, well technically, I’m not yet done. My project is an escape room game. You know those games wherein you’re in a house and you have to find your way out? I made a version of that on a website. Riviera-sensei saw my work and told me that my finished product would be to make the puzzle harder.”

“She makes it sound like it’s so easy,” Marik muttered.

“Maybe you can help us with your magical skills, Mana,” Bakura suggested. Unfortunately, they were paired together, he was okay with the subject, but he really didn’t like the type of project assigned to them. A movie ticketing system? How boring was that?

“I charge per hour, Bakura,” Mana smiled proudly. “And no, your mother’s lunches don’t count. I already swap with you for that.”

While Mana and Bakura negotiated, she eventually changed places and sat in between Marik and Bakura, which Yami was thankful for. He glanced over to Yugi and was glad that the smaller teen was happily smiling and laughing along with his friends. It felt natural for him to be there. That was good.

 

* * *

 

 

“Hey, Tea,” Joey waved as he, along with Tristan and Yugi, approached her locker.

“Hey, Joey. I heard you and Tristan were in detention during lunch... _again_ ,” Tea glared playfully as she stuffed her books in her locker.

“It was Tristan’s fault!” Joey complained.

And so it commenced the playful banter between him and Tristan which Yugi and Tea ignored.

Yugi noticed Tea take out a small baby blue notebook from her locker. “Tea, you bring your diary to school?” he whispered so as not to alert Joey with the information.

Tea looked at her blue book and nodded. “It’s not just my diary, Yugi. I also write down my plans for the day on it. It’s stuffed with sticky notes too.”

“Aren’t you scared that someone might find it especially since you put it in your locker?”

“Well, I can’t leave it in my bag where everyone can just easily grab it. At least my locker has a padlock to keep it secure most of the time.” She smiled and stuffed her diary in her bag. She grabbed Joey’s and Tristan’s ears to stop them from bickering. “Alright you two. We’re heading home. Whatever you guys did to get detention and whoever started it, I don’t care. Let’s just go home. I still have that damn computer project I have to do.”

“So, Tea, how was your date with Yugi?” Joey asked with a smirk.

Tea blushed then cleared her throat. “Actually, Joey, it was nice. Yugi even bought me a blue rose when he picked me up.”

“A rose? As in just one?” Tristan asked incredulously. “Yug, aren’t you such a cheapskate,” he joked, elbowing his friend lightly.

Yugi rolled his eyes. “Well, Tristan, if you buy a girl a bouquet of roses on the first date, she might expect too much from you. Giving her a single flower on the first date means that you like her enough to spend money on something that will die soon.” He chuckled.

“Who told you that?” Joey asked.

“Grandpa did. We were off to the hospital to visit his lady doctor friend in the hospital one time and I asked him why he was only giving her a single rose every time he visits her.”

“Who knew grandpa could give sound dating advice,” Tea giggled.

“Yeah, maybe we should ask him for dating advice instead,” Tristan commented.

He received a hard smack at the back of his head from Tea. “Anyways, back to the date. Yugi took me dancing, although, Yugi, you should request for a different waiter next time if you ever take a girl to Paradiso Bohemia again,” Tea said.

“Why’s that?” Yugi asked.

“Well, the waitress kept flirting with you, and even though you don’t notice it, it will make the girl uncomfortable when someone else is coming onto their date.” Tea remembered Crystal and Lili all too well. She left Crystal out knowing that Yugi only saw her as a friend, and Tea was half hoping that Yugi might ask the girl out since she looked quite interested in him. Just half.

Joey couldn’t help but smirk at Tea’s expression. She looks so jealous as she talked about the other girls that were flirting with Yugi. If he hoped right, Tea might fall for Yugi and they would end up together. Now all he had to do was add fuel to the fire.

“Well, seeing as it’s not a real date, that shouldn’t matter. Right, Yugi?” Joey asked taking note of Tea's jealous face. “So, Yugi, what did this waitress look like? Was she hot?”

“Uhh…” was all Yugi could say.

“Joey!” Tea scolded. She didn’t really appreciate it how Joey was just pushing Yugi at any random girl. “Yugi should be dating a nice girl not just some random female that flirts with him at a restaurant.”

“Well, then he should ask Mana out. It’s obvious that she’s into him,” Joey dismissed. He needed to rile Tea up. He knew how possessive she could be, all he had to was push the right buttons.

“Guys, I’ll date when I want to date, okay?” Yugi intervened. An argument between Joey and Tea wasn’t exactly something that he wanted especially when they were heading for home. If he was going to be completely honest with them, he liked his status right now. Single, no drama, aside from his parents but that was a whole different thing entirely, he was sexually satiated with Yami, and he got good grades. He was fine with the way things were.

“Oh hey, did you guys see the new guy today?” Tristan asked with a huff.

“Yeah, he’s in my class. Why?”

“I saw him with Miho today,” Tristan grumbled. His longtime crush for the girl was legendary between him and his friends. He’s dated other girls before but was scared to death when he’s caught staring at her.

“Well he wanted to be close to someone from the council since he’s new. He wanted to hang out with us because he knew I’m friends with Tea. But since Tea had lunch with the volleyball team, I introduced him to Miho,” Yugi explained. He skipped the part about how Duke had invaded his personal space and had winked at him far too many times in class that he can swear that the guy could have a muscle defect.

He was also happy to not share the fact that Duke made a pass at him at the hallway when no one was looking. He had Kisara or Yami to divulge that little snippet of his day.

 

* * *

 

 

This is ridiculous.

It’s only been a couple of weeks and the new, Duke Devlin, has already overstepped his boundaries. Not only was the guy openly flirting with Yugi, but he was able to worm his way in Yugi’s little friend group. Of course, he hadn’t said anything to Yugi, and of course, the flirting _looked_ harmless, but still. The guy was touching Yugi _way_ too much for Yami that it can be categorized as molesting to him now.

One time, Yami was walking around the halls during break when he saw Yugi being cornered by Duke. He wasn’t seen by the two but he could perfectly hear them.

“Hey, Yugi,” Duke purred, inching his face closer to the amethyst-eyed teen. “You wanna come over my house tonight? I heard you’re a gamer. My father and I are opening a game shop soon and I wanted to know if you wanna look over our collection.” He traced his finger up Yugi’s arm that made Yugi cringe. But in Duke’s eyes, he may have thought that Yugi was shivering in delight, that the green-eyed teen smirked. “You’re really cute, you know. True, you and Sennen kinda look alike, but you're absolutely cuter. He's too intimidating for me. You, on the other hand, are just my type. Submissive,” he cupped Yugi’s face and moved his face closer.

But Yami stormed over there and grabbed Yugi before anything happened.

“Hey, Yugi, I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” he scolded. Crimson eyes looked over the smaller teen and was relieved to see that Yugi wasn’t annoyed with breaking his moment with Duke. He even looked relieved to be taken out of it before he broke the other guy’s jaw for advancing on him.

“What’s your deal, Sennen?” Duke glared at the taller look alike. He wasn’t too pleased with how Yami had linked his arm around Yugi’s.

“My _deal_ , Devlin, is that Yugi’s my partner and we have work to do,” Yami snapped none too kindly and dragged Yugi away from the raven-haired teen.

“Thanks, Yami,” Yugi whispered. “But I could’ve punched him no problem, especially for that submissive comment.”

Yami scoffed, “I’m not going to let you get suspended because of that creep.”

Chuckling, Yugi opened the door to the empty computer room and looked over at his partner, “I know it's just a Wednesday but do you wanna come over tonight?”

 

* * *

 

 

And with that invitation, Yami has taken to sleeping over at Yugi’s place regularly. Surprisingly, Yugi hadn’t minded. Yami wanted to assume that the amethyst-eyed teen preferred it.

A change of clothes wasn’t an issue for Yami too. Yugi’s sister, Kisara, had bought a new uniform set for Yugi that was a size bigger than Yugi’s old one, she bought three sets and Yami was able to borrow one. With the new uniform in the right size, the clothes accentuate Yugi’s lean body and he even looked taller in them. The boy looked sexier and it wasn’t only Yami who noticed. Numerous girls had managed to chance a flirty smile or wink at Yugi’s direction. But that was a small price to pay for the wonderful sight that is Yugi Mutou. Yami had now considered Kisara a heaven sent.

Still, the crimson-eyed teen would curl his fingers into fists whenever he saw someone approach Yugi and try to flirt with him. He wanted to say he didn’t know why his blood would boil, but that would be lying. He knew _exactly_ why his rage and frustration would go up whenever some girl or Duke Devlin would come onto Yugi, he was a jealous and possessive guy.

_You’re mine._

Ever since he let those words slip, something changed between them. Yugi had become more affectionate towards him, which was weird at first. It started with chaste goodbye kisses before Yami leaves the Mutou house. His usual exit was to first wait for Yugi to wake, then dress up as fast as he could and leave as silent and as quickly as he can. But one Friday, as Yami was about to leave, Yugi caught his wrist and pulled him to a quick kiss on the lips before saying good bye and turning around to let Yami leave.

Then Yugi started sitting beside him at lunch with the guise of doing the projects they were assigned to. Then again, Yugi could just be avoiding Devlin since the guy had just become a new occupant of their lunch table. But nonetheless, it was the simple gesture of choosing him as company over his friends that made Yami question Yugi’s feelings towards him.

It was around 11PM when Yami rang the doorbell to the game shop one Friday night. Kisara was already in her room working. The two teens knew that she would be out of her room around 1AM so she could connect to the internet. Yugi got down to the first floor wearing only his pajama pants. When he opened the door, Yami was standing there in the dark of the night with lust-filled crimson eyes.

Yami drank in the site of Yugi’s shirtlessness and he just snapped. He crushed his lips against the other teen and pushed him against the doorway, his tan hands grabbing onto Yugi’s backside. It took Yugi a couple of seconds before he eventually kissed back with equal fervor. He moaned when he felt Yami’s hands massage him. One hand suddenly slivered up his body to hold the back of head and deepen the kiss.

Yugi leaned back against the doorway and jumped slightly to wrap his legs around Yami’s waist. The action caused Yami to groan against their kiss and pressed the other teen against the doorway. Yugi could feel Yami’s need and it was fogging up his mind. When Yami kissed him, his immediate response was to open his mouth and welcome him. He felt slightly lightheaded for the lack of air but then it could also be because Yami’s lips were on him.

They didn’t know who pulled away but they did and drank in the sight of each other. Without speaking Yugi practically dragged Yami inside and slammed the door shut. Kisara wouldn’t mind, she already had her headphones on so she wouldn’t hear the racket. Yugi yelped when he was suddenly lifted up off his feet as Yami carried him over his shoulder. The next thing Yugi knew, he was being thrown on his bed and a topless Yami pounced on top of him, not that he minded.

In a matter of minutes they were both naked and Yugi could already feel a digit teasing his entrance and teeth grazing his neck.

“I feel like I’m using you,” Yugi eventually spoke. The first words that were ever said between them since Yami arrived. “Do you feel used?”

This made the darker teen think as he kissed the other roughly again. Did he feel used? But Yugi’s question also meant that maybe he was just using Yami. Maybe if Yugi had asked months ago he would say yes. But really, if he felt used, it wouldn’t matter to him since he had Yugi. He would prefer Yugi run to him for release than anyone else. Yugi was amazing in bed, anyone would be lucky to have him. It made the crimson-eyed teen dread thinking about someone else in Yugi’s arms. When he felt that other teen hadn’t been kissing back he looked at those pools of amethysts that he can’t get enough of.

“No.” His answer was non-hesitant. “I want this,” he proclaimed. “I want you."

“I want you too,” Yugi sighed. He bit his lip and reached out to kiss Yami again. This time it was gentle and passionate.

With that affirmation, Yami swallowed Yugi’s muffled moan when his finger entered the smaller teen. He slowly prepared Yugi, making sure too hit the bundle of nerves inside him. Yami would wince whenever Yugi bit his lip every time his prostate was hit. A loud groan of frustration came from Yugi when Yami pulled his fingers out.

“More,” Yugi moaned. “Want...you…”

Upon hearing the pained moans of Yugi, Yami pressed his whole body against the teen beneath him so they were touching skin on skin, chest to chest, hip to hip. He rubbed himself against Yugi and they both groaned at the sweet yet torturous friction. After a few more teasing, Yami aligned himself at Yugi’s entrance and slowly moved. Yami ground his teeth to control his urge to snap his hips in one full thrust and take Yugi so suddenly. The lack of lubrication may be something they both preferred but they were still careful during the initial stages.

When they were finally connected, Yami always acted on Yugi’s requests and begs for more. He really couldn’t deny those large gems for eyes, whether in or out of the bedroom. He could never deny Yugi anything.

He may not be able to flirt with Yugi openly like Duke, or link his arm around Yugi’s as they walk together or go out on a date with Yugi like Tea can. But they can’t kiss Yugi with a burning passion as they scramble their way to the bedroom. They can’t touch Yugi in the places only Yami has ever touched. They can’t pleasure Yugi in the way Yami has. And it wasn’t their name that Yugi shouts every night when he’s overwhelmed with pleasure. It’s not their name that Yugi begs when he wants more. It’s not their arms that Yugi curls into after a night of passion. It wasn’t them that Yugi would wake up to in the weekend morning. It was always Yami.

And the crimson-eyed teen hoped that it will always be him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my dear Tea. I know it's hard when you finally realize that you're actually in love with your bestfriend instead of some other person you wished was your bestfriend. That is a story in it of itself right there. I'm actually considering posting a special separate fanfic filled with outtakes from this fic but written in Tea's perspective. Fic will probably be filled with more teen angst and hopeful fantasies. It actually sounds fun to write now that I'm thinking about it. What do you guys think?
> 
> Anyways, I hope you guys like how their date went. It was fun to write, especially since it was in Tea's perspective. Her character on the show was always fun whenever she would show her jealousy when other girls show their affection towards Yugi and that was a fun perspective to write. Also, please expect updates to be a little longer since chapters 8-11 are under extreme re-writes. Why you ask? Well, I was reading the whole fic from Chapter 1 to the most recent chapter I've done and there were too much filler scenes in the last few chapters that I've done that were unnecessary to the plot. So I figured, I needed to re-write them to focus more on the main plot.
> 
> As always, please tell me what you guys think of the story so far and what you guys expect now that some of other people's feelings have surfaced.


	8. The Calm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "In the eye of a hurricane there is quiet, for just a moment" -Lyrics from Hamilton:An American Musical

"I'm leaving this Saturday," Kisara reminded her brother.

Yugi perked up to look at his sister. "Oh yeah, I forgot about that. You'll only be in America for a week right?" It still bothered him that Kisara was leaving for America. At the back of his mind, he was thinking that she would leave for America and never come back. He hadn't voiced this distress yet, and he had no plan to. It was an irrational after all.

"No more, no less," Kisara affirmed. "Can you handle being alone for seven days?"

The younger sibling narrowed his eyes and raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding right?"

Kisara giggled. "Just checking."

Yugi rolled his eyes. "One, you filled my phone with every number I can call. I have Ms. Mara's phone number, your lawyers, hell, even your assistant from America has his phone number in my phone, and I don't even know when I'm going to need it. Two, you placed a very unnecessary international plan on my phone that's good for thirty days just so I can call either you or grandpa. And three, I used to stay home alone when grandpa would go on trips before. I think I'm going to be fine, Kisara." It was so ridiculous that as a form of revenge, he named Kisara as "The Cavalry" in his phone.

"Like I said, I was just checking," she scoffed.

"Can I ask you something and get a perfectly serious and honest answer from you?" Yugi asked.

Kisara looked at him knowingly, "You know you can. Go ahead."

"Regarding what Yami and I are doing, why doesn't it bother you? And I want an honest and serious answer."

The older sibling didn't even need to think about her answer. "It just doesn't. I can't really judge you if I've done almost the same thing before."

"What?" Yugi's eyes snapped towards Kisara's direction.

Kisara's eyes went wide for a split second, too fast for Yugi to pick up and think about. She kept her cool and raised an eyebrow at him. "What? I was a hormonal teen before, Yugi. Casual sex with other people was a thing for me too."

"You had sex with multiple guys? Won't people consider that slutty?"

Kisara shrugged. "I only had sex with one guy multiple times. And I don't appreciate you calling girls slutty or a bitch. We have to deal with so much shit already, being called whatever by males is making things worse."

Yugi had to look up to make sure Kisara wasn't mad at him for what he said. He was relieved to find a very tired looking girl in front of him. She didn't look pissed at least. "Okay, Kisara. I'll keep that in mind."

"Good." The amused smile on her face reassured Yugi that they were okay. "Also, to add to my answer earlier, I found that people are less truthful because they experienced being judged and punished too harshly for saying the truth before. I figured, you'd prefer to talk to someone with an open mind. You  _are_ more open and comfortable with me right?"

Yugi nodded. When he got up and set up his console, Kisara hid a smile. Topic was averted like the pro that she is.

* * *

"Yugi," Tea whispered as she grabbed her best friend off to the side where no one could see or hear them.

"What is it, Tea?" the tricolor-haired teen asked.

Tea bit her lip and shifted her eyes around, looking at the people who were passing by. "I can't find my diary," she whispered in his ear.

Yugi's eyes went wide with alarm. Tea had such an active imagination, and she often said too much for her own good. Heaven only knows what she could've written in her diary. If someone got a hold of that, they will get an eyeful of Tea's mind. He's never seen what was written on it, but given how he knew Tea, anyone could use her diary entries against her.

"How do you know someone took it?" he asked. He ran his hand across Tea's back reassuringly.

Tea kept her eyes down. Her heart was pounding so much since she found out her diary was lost. "It was in my room last Saturday, and come this Monday morning when I was packing my stuff, it was nowhere in sight."

"Did you check your locker?" Yugi asked.

Tea nodded her head. "Although, I don't think I need to since the last time I saw it was under my bed Sunday morning. I had to hide it since I had that sleepover with the varsity team..." The brunette trailed off, her brain hesitating at the train of thought it was about to go to. She shook her again. She trusted those girls, they've been together for four years now, so they wouldn't do anything against her.

The amethyst-eyed teen looked over at his friend with concern. He had never read Tea's diary ever, but he had seen it. He''s also seen how Tea would protect the little book with a burning passion of a mother lion. "Did you ask the team if they've seen it maybe?"

"How would they see it if I already hid it before they even came to my place?" she asked, trying her best to keep her annoyance and frustration at bay. Yugi didn't deserve that. He hadn't done anything wrong and he was only trying to help. She didn't have anyone else to run to except for Yugi. If there was any other person she trusted more than her varsity team, it was him. Yugi knew the meaning of privacy. Had she told Joey or Tristan, the two would've accidentally slipped it to someone that she had lost her diary.

"Maybe you absentmindedly brought it and kept it somewhere." Yugi squeezed Tea's arm reassuringly and smiled at her.

Tea held back a gasp as she came in contact with the shining pools of liquid amethyst that resided in Yugi's eyes. It took her breath away at how beautiful and calming they were. Why had she not noticed them before? They are absolutely mesmerizing. She couldn't help but smile and nodded. Her anxiety was slowly simmering down the longer she stared into Yugi's eyes. He gave off a light and warm calming presence around her that she was able to relax. "You're right. I'll go check my gym locker maybe I left it there by mistake. It's kinda a mess right now with everything that's been happening with the school festival, and projects, and even volleyball practice. Thanks, Yugi." She waved at her friend and ran off to the direction of her next class, her heart still thumping rapidly.

Yugi got his essentials from his locker and was about to leave for class when Ryou was suddenly attached to his arm. "Hey, Yugi," the teen chirped.

"Good morning, Ryou," Yugi greeted with a laugh. He stared at his white-haired friend who was practically beaming with joy. "Something interesting happened during the weekend?" he asked as they started to head to their class.

Ryou's cheeks were suddenly pink at the question. "Yes. It was amazing. But I can't tell you right now," he gushed.

Yugi just chuckled at his friend's euphoric state and went to class. He greeted Yami and shrugged when he heard the silent question regarding Ryou's weird clinginess. Before he got to his seat, though, Yugi was yet again blocked by Duke Devlin.

"Good morning, Yugi," Duke drawled. "How was your weekend?"

Ryou had already detached himself from Yugi and got to his seat.

"It was fine, Duke," Yugi clipped and walked around the green-eyed teen blocking his way. When he eventually got to his seat, Duke didn't take it as a sign to beat it.

"Mine was pretty boring, which got me into thinking..." he trailed off suggestively, his eyes trying to capture Yugi's.

The boy didn't even try to control not rolling his eyes.

Yugi was already so full of Duke's shit whenever the boy would flirt with him. It was only a matter of time before he punched the living daylights out of him. He never really understood why Duke would come onto him explicitly like this either.

"So, Yugi, what do you think?" Duke asked.

Yugi blinked then put on a very bored and uninterested face on. He didn't bother to respond, which he knew Duke hated, being the attention whore that he is. He suppressed a smirk when he saw Duke narrow his eyes slightly due to the lack of response. He has stopped listening to Duke since he started trying to talk seductively at him. Yugi figured he should be flattered that Duke was giving him special attention, but he wasn't attracted to the male so he was only annoyed. Ever since he and Yami had their little night time fun, he had figured he was bisexual. But for some odd reason, he wasn't attracted to any other guy aside from Yami. He knew Duke was attractive. He was tall, confident, and according to the girls, was sex on a stick. Apparently, he also had an "exotic vibe" like Yami does because of the eyes.

Thankfully, the teacher arrived and Duke had no choice but to go back to his seat.

Is this how Tea felt whenever he was around? At the back of his mind, Yugi knew that Tea knew about his crush on her. Maybe she felt the way he feels with Duke right now. But of course, he wasn't explicit with the way he showed his interest in Tea. It didn't differ from him being a good friend, but he figured if Tea knew that he liked her, then she would think that everything nice he did for her was because he liked her.

Three classes down and it was already lunch time. Just like before, Tea, Joey, and Tristan were outside waiting for Yugi. They greeted him and said hi to Duke who decided to skip lunch with them and join a group of girls who asked him prior. When they started walking towards the cafeteria, Tea linked her arm around Yugi's so she could whisper in his ear.

"Found my diary in my gym locker, thank goodness," she said in a low voice, making sure that no one else, not even Joey and Tristan, could hear her.

Yugi flashed her a reassuring smile and mouthed "I told you" which made the girl giggle.

Once they arrived to their usual table, Tea took out a can of soda she had bought earlier and gave it to Yugi. "Thanks for helping me this morning," she said as she handed the soda to her best friend.

Yugi blinked questioningly at the can but took it anyways. "No problem, Tea."

Of course, Joey and Tristan didn't miss the exchange.

"What are you guys talking about?" Tristan asked.

"Nothing. I was having a  _girly_ crisis this morning and Yugi was able to help me," Tea said as she draped an arm on Yugi's shoulders.

"How is it that you can tolerate girly drama, Yugi?" Joey asked. He smirked when he saw Tea roll her eyes at his question.

Yugi shrugged. "Tea asked for help. You guys know me, I always help my friends when I can." He looked down at his bento that Kisara had prepared for him. She didn't bother to be fancy with his food today. He saw how she did her best to multitask as she spoke on the phone with her assistant and cook breakfast at the same time. She had a lot of last minute work to finish up before she had to leave this Saturday.

"Yeah, you're right," Joey agreed. "Man, your future girlfriend will be so frickin lucky with you," he mused, making sure to emphasize how lucky the girl would be just to hit the idea home. "Imagine, you can deal with the girly drama like it's nothing and based from Tea's analysis of your little date, you're an absolute gentleman and you'll probably treat them like a princess."

"Yugi, you're probably my hero," Tristan added jokingly.

"Probably?" Yugi raised an eyebrow and smirked at Tristan. "Tea's my friend so yeah I would know what she liked. The date was nothing," he shrugged. "It was just like two friends hanging out at a nice restaurant to go dancing."

"That's the thing, Yugi, you don't mind going dancing because you're good at it. You remember junior prom? Joey and I had to tap out on our dates who just loved to dance."

Yugi pursed his lips, "I didn't go to junior prom remember?" He preferred not to go and decided to go to America with his grandfather instead. His grandpa was invited to a conference in L.A. that time and he asked if he could tag along since there was also a little Duel Monsters tournament held within the same area. He enjoyed his long weekend there more than he could enjoy junior prom, without a date nonetheless.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," Tristan replied. "You didn't miss much, though, if we're being honest."

Tea then smacked Tristan at the back of his head. "You were dating my friend, Tristan. The least you could do is say you had a nice time with her," she scolded.

Joey scoffed. "Give it a rest, Tea. We all know that Tristan here won't be impressed by any girl except for Miho. And since Miho wasn't Tristan's date last junior prom, then of course he wouldn't have enjoyed himself." He then drifted the topic back to Yugi. "Speaking of prom, Yugi, you should totally ask Mana to prom," he pushed again. "She's nice, she's into you, and you guys kinda look cute together. Right, Tristan?" He elbowed his friend lightly.

Before Yugi could answer, Tea interjected. "Guys, Yugi shouldn't date the first person who shows interest in him. He should go out with someone he actually likes."

Testing the water, Joey retorted. "Oh and who, pray tell, would that be, Tea?" He challenged her by raising an eyebrow, daring her to answer.

Yugi rolled his eyes. "Guys, I'll date whoever I want to date. All you guys have to do is be supportive, okay?" Deep inside he wanted this to be real, that if ever, by some chance, and should fate allow it, he and Yami dated, his friends would be supportive.

"We'll be supportive, Yugi, but only if that person is actually good for you, you know. Like real friends would," Tea said with a soft smile. Deep inside, she felt a little jealous that Yugi didn't look at her when he talked about dating someone. Maybe he's over her now. Maybe she was too late to return her feelings. But maybe she could do something about it. It couldn't hurt right? He didn't even seem to be interested in anyone anyways.

"Same goes for me, Yug," Joey added.

"Me too!" Tristan chimed in. "We're best friends and that's what best friends do."

Yugi just smiled at them. Sure they say that now, but he knew it was wishful thinking.

* * *

"If you stop staring, then they wouldn't get suspicious, Yami," Marik commented. Ever since they started eating lunch, Yami looked at only three things, his food, his textbook, and Yugi's table. He and his cousins saw Yugi and Tea walking to the cafeteria with their arms linked and whispering in each other's ears. Yami didn't even look jealous, he looked downright hopeless as he watched Yugi and Tea interact. The two sat so close to each other and they acted as if they were together with Tea sharing her lunch with Yugi and wrapping an arm around Yugi's shoulder while they laughed along with their other friends.

Yami knew better than to be jealous, but Tea was sitting too close to Yugi for him to be comfortable about it. He couldn't even vent out his frustrations this week since Yugi had asked for them to not meet for the whole week. The smaller teen had wanted to spend more time with his sister before she had to go to America late Saturday night. Not being able to spend time with Yugi wasn't really helping with his anxiety. Of course, the rational side of his brain was telling him that Yugi just wanted to be with his sister before she left since he's been feeling a bout of anxiety with her leaving.

He felt someone poke his shoulder.

"What?" he asked as he tore his gaze away from Yugi to look at his cousins. "Did you say something?"

Marik shook his head and chuckled. "You've been looking at that table for a good solid ten minutes now. I'm surprised Wheeler hasn't charged you right here for staring too much."

Yami blinked at him. He hadn't realized that. He rolled his eyes and went back to his lunch. "I'm taking the babysitting shift this week," he said, completely ignoring Marik's previous statement.

"Oh, speaking of babysitting duty, can you take this week and next week too?" Bakura asked.

The crimson-eyed teen raised an eyebrow at his cousin. "No. I am not taking next week too. We have that first milestone checking for our computer project. We're not yet even done with it." Also, he was going to take advantage of an empty house with Yugi next week, but Bakura and Marik didn't need to know that.

Seto left earlier today for a business trip to finalize some major details for his new VR game technology. He said he wasn't sure when he'll be back depending on how meetings were going to go. But a long trip for the new game release meant Seto was bringing in a big chunk of his staff with him, and he can't bring Mokuba along because he had exams. Not bringing his little brother on a business trip meant Yami, Bakura, and Marik were on babysitting duty until Seto returns. They never really minded since Mokuba was easy to look after, and being in the mansion meant good food, good internet connection, and Seto's game room at their disposal.

"Yeah, but unlike you, we didn't start working on the damn thing the day after we got the instructions," Marik argued. "Come on, Yami. You can survive two weeks without bedding your little morning star right?" he teased in Arabic. They still sat beside a table full of ridiculous gossips. So in order for the three of them to talk about personal stuff, they would switch to Arabic instead of Japanese. There were news of a Facebook page posting different gossip stories anonymously, and the last thing they needed was to be overheard by someone with itchy fingers. It wasn't new for them to speak Arabic in school, so it wouldn't attract any unwanted attention. Of course, Marik was always very poetic when he spoke in Arabic which annoyed Yami to no end.

"Look, we're paired up together and I'm doing all the work since Marik is doing our advance chemistry and physics projects. We need extra time to finish everything," Bakura explained. "How about we compromise? We take Monday until Wednesday and you take Thursday and Friday."

"Why don't you guys both take the whole week next week and do the project at the mansion?" Yami argued, not even bothering to look at his cousins.

"We're asking Mana for help this week and she promised to finish the last parts on Thursday if ever we missed anything before Friday," Marik explained.

"Mana? How in Ra's name did you even get her to agree?" Yami asked incredulously. He knew Mana wouldn't just say yes to helping them with homework, more so a school project. It would take them-

"I introduced her to Malik," Marik replied.

"Ahh," Yami nodded. Mana's weakness, meeting new people, especially the ones that grabbed their attention in an intimate way. She was easily fascinated by what type of people her male friends were attracted to. Of course, Mana knew that Marik had a boyfriend but she has yet to meet him. But that didn't mean she didn't pester him about it. "Desperate are we?" Yami chuckled.

"Yes," his cousins said in unison.

"Fine," Yami eventually said. "I'll take Thursday and Friday but you guys are going to owe me. And that's two days for  _each_ of you." He pointed his finger at both of his cousins with a challenging stare.

"Deal!" the two said in unison.

"In fact, we can do you one better, we'll take all of the babysitting duty until Seto comes back," Marik said excitedly.

"Oh no," Yami started. "I'm saving those four days for a rainy day. And I'm allowed to cash those days in at the last minute."

"Hey! No way am I agreeing to that," Bakura complained.

"It'll be within reason," Yami promised. "I'm not like you two who will spring this last minute when you both know I already have plans," he sneered. "Plus, I am not babysitting on weekends."

"What?!" Yami's cousins said in unison.

"No way I'm agreeing to that! I have plans!" Marik whined. It was a known fact that Marik and his boyfriend, Malik, always  _always_  spend weekends together talking over at Skype. It was their way of compensating for the distance and time difference. Before Marik was gifted and international plan on his phone by his parents, he and Malik created that arrangement. It didn't matter how they spend that time, as long as they were online and on video call. They could be playing games, just talking, or doing their school work. Even though Marik already has an international plan on his phone so he could call and text Marik to his heart's content, he was still adamant on keeping their weekend video calls as a constant. No one was allowed to interrupt that. If it was his shift to babysit Mokuba on the weekends, he had to be informed in advance so he and Malik could plan accordingly. His cousins never understood why, and they never asked, but they respected his wishes nonetheless. It was Marik's way of coping with his long distance relationship, and they didn't want to get in the way of that.

Yami pouted. "Aren't you spending the weekend doing the project with Mana and Bakura?" he asked.

"Nope," it was Bakura who answered. "When we asked her to help us on the weekend, she said that nothing would persuade her to change her weekend plans. Not even a hundred boyfriends could."

"What's that all about?"

The white-haired teen shrugged. "Who knows? She must have weekend rituals like Marik."

"Looks like you're the sacrificial lamb for that."

"No, I'm not. I have plans as well," Bakura huffed.

"So, we'll make it six days instead of four then?" Yami asked with a smirk.

The two eventually agreed to the terms and went back to their lunch.

The rest of the school day flew by fast and Yami was already on his way to the front of the school gate where Seto's limo would pick him up to take him to the mansion. As he waited outside the gate, Yugi and Tea happened to walk by along with Joey and Tristan. He couldn't help but notice Tea's arm was around Yugi's shoulders... _again_.

Just in time, Seto's limo rolled in and he got on without having to wait for the driver to open the door for him. Through the tinted windows, he watched as Yugi and his friends walked home together, his crimson eyes glued on Tea's arm that he was so tempted to tear off so it would stop touching Yugi.

Once that thought passed through his head, he pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned. He needed to calm down, preferably now.

* * *

"Hey, Yug. When will gramps come back from his dig?" Joey asked. He eyed his best friend and couldn't help but smirk when he saw that Tea was keeping constant contact with him. They were all walking their usual way home. Joey did notice that Yugi seemed distracted and didn't hear his question, so the blond nudged him with his elbow.

Yugi hummed. "Oh sorry. He said that his trip could be shorter or longer than planned depending on the amount of approvals the bureau was able to secure for the dig."

"Are you okay, Yugi?" Tea asked, her voice filled with concern. "You seem distracted lately."

Yugi shrugged. He couldn't really tell them what was really bothering him. The phone calls from his parents were getting more frequent now and he couldn't handle the messages. Eventually, Kisara reprogrammed their answering machine so that any calls coming from their parents' phone would be automatically dropped. How she was able to do that, he didn't ask. "I don't get a lot of sleep lately. I'm just tired."

Sensing Yugi's discomfort with the topic, Tristan shifted the topic back to Yugi's grandpa. "So when did your grandpa leave?"

"About two weeks ago." Yugi replied, thankful for the topic change.

"So you've had the house to yourself for two weeks now?" Joey asked excitedly. "And you're not even inviting us over? Yugi, we could have really late night sleepovers and parties at your place! We just missed two weeks of that!"

Tristan pulled Yugi away from Tea and draped his arm on Yugi's shoulders. "Joey's right, Yugi! We could have had two weeks worth of game nights at your place!" He then looked at Yugi's nervous face and he couldn't help but smirk. "Why do you look so nervous? Do you have a  _girl_ over there that you're not telling us?" he teased.

Yugi's eyes went wide. Oh, Tristan wasn't even aware how close he was to the truth. Although, he was sure that Tristan was thinking about a different type of girl entirely. "Uh, no I'm not hiding a girl at all!" Yugi said nervously.  _Smooth_ he thought to himself sarcastically. "And besides I'm not alone at home, Yami's always there." Yugi wanted to slap himself for that. He may not be hiding  _that_ type of girl, but he was also hiding Yami which was close enough to what Tristan was referring to.

Joey scoffed. "You have the house to yourself and yet all you do is work? I know you and Sennen were paired up in all of the projects but you should seriously have time to have fun. Come on, Yugi, let's have a game night at your place," he whined.

This time, it was Tea's turn to butt in by lightly smacking Joey at the back of his head. "This is why you get into trouble when it comes to projects. Yugi's being smart and responsible while you're thinking of having sleepovers during a school night." She was honestly relieved that, even though Tristan was just teasing, Yugi wasn't actually seeing a girl and inviting said girl over to his place for the last two weeks. Maybe she did have a chance after all. But then again, Yugi didn't seem like the type to just invite someone over when the opportunity arose. They eventually continued walking after a few more teasing.

"Oh man!" Tristan exclaimed while looking at his phone, attracting the attention of his friends.

"What is it, Tristan?" Joey asked as he peered at his friend's phone.

"I heard some of the people talking about this Facebook page called Domino High Secret Files wherein people submit scandalous stories anonymously through a web form and the page admin posts them," the brunet explained. "And there are a  _lot_ of very detailed posts even though the page has only been up for a week."

"I heard that there's a page like that for Domino University too. Looks like someone from our high school is trying to copy that," Tea said as she furrowed her brows. "Lemme see!" She snatched her friend's phone so she could take a look for herself. She then looked at the description of the page and started reading it.

_Domino High Secret Files_

_No way affiliated with the official Domino High official page. All due credits given to our friends, Domino University Secret Files, for coming up with this idea. Standard disclaimers apply. No copyright infringement intended._

_Got a secret you're itching to share? That's what we're here for. All posts will remain anonymous unless you request them not to._

_Disclaimer: All posts may or may not be true. Name censorship is also decided by the admin._

"What are the stories like?" Joey asked as he tried to grab the phone from Tea, but the girl was much faster and was able to dodge him easily.

"They're more tame than the ones on the Domino University page. More of anonymous confessions. And there are a  _lot_ of bullying stories from Ushio and his gang," Tea said as she browsed quickly through the posts.

"I wonder who created this page," Yugi asked as he tried to sneak a peek from over Tea's shoulder. His breath warmed Tea's ear and the girl froze slightly.

Tea's mind was racing at Yugi's proximity. She kept her head in place and she didn't dare move. This was Yugi, her best friend. He'd been this close to her back then so it shouldn't bother her at the slightest. Then again, back then she didn't have these intense feelings towards him that every time he smiled at her direction, it would make her heart jump. She gave out a deep sigh and kept her eyes trained on Tristan's phone. One wrong tilt of her head and their lips might meet. But why didn't it sound like a bad idea? Biting her lip, she contemplated if she could "accidentally" turn her head and kiss Yugi. But Tristan and Joey were around them, she pictured her first kiss with Yugi as something more romantic than just an accidental brush of the lips. So, with that in mind, she kept looking at Tristan's phone and she eventually answered Yugi's question.

"It could be anyone," she shrugged. "But it's obviously someone who has a lot of free time judging from the amount of posts they have here."

Tristan then snatched his phone back. "A lot of them are from freshmen. Maybe they're the ones who created the page. And judging from the amount of likes, this page is more famous than the school's official website."

Tea huffed. "That's because there are a lot of gossips in school. And you, Tristan," she pointed at her brunet best friend, "are just as bad as them."

Tristan rolled his eyes. "I'm not a gossip, Tea. I just hear things the gossips at school talk about. There's a difference. I don't make matters worse, that's for sure." He looked at his phone again, his mind contemplating on the possibilities. "I just heard about this page from some of the girls in my class. They were talking about possibly confessing to their crushes that way, and…" he trailed off.

His friends couldn't help but chuckle when he suddenly blushed. "You're hoping to confess to Miho that way?" Joey asked teasingly.

"No!" Tristan denied a little too strongly, but the blush on his face said it all. He then looked at his phone and his eyes went wide at the new update from the page. "Whoa! Guys, look at this!"

_#020_

_I just saw two white-haired boys on a date last weekend. They were at the mall in the big hobby shop being all lovey-dovey. They love to make out and kiss in public. I'm pretty sure they got laid after the date! This is so stupid because White-haired Boy #1 got to my crush, White-haired Boy #2, first. Based from how close and touchy they were on the date, I'm pretty sure they've been together for a LONG WHILE. I should be pissed...but they are so cute together that I just cannot have the heart to break them up. So anyone who tries to break them up, you guys are going to have to fite me!_

_LurkerGirl, Junior Class_

Yugi blinked. White-haired boys? He only knew of three people with white hair, and one of them was his sister.

"Ryou and Bakura are dating?" Tea asked as she went over to take a peek at Tristan's phone.

"Well it wasn't  _explicitly_ said that it was Ryou and Bakura, but the comments sure are believing it," Tristan replied. "This post makes me nervous, suddenly. Anyone can just anonymously post whatever shit they know about other people."

Joey scoffed, "Yeah and with the gossips in school, people will eat that shit up."

"I didn't know Ryou was into guys, let alone dating one," Tea said. She then looked at Yugi. "Did he ever tell you anything, Yugi?"

The amethyst-eyed teen shrugged. "He told me he was bi at one point. And I told him I was bisexual too. It was a passing topic. He never told me he was interested in anyone though." But judging from Ryou's beaming expression, him dating Bakura could be true. The white-haired boy actually looked lovestruck.

"You guys don't talk about stuff like that?" Joey asked.

"We don't. We usually talk about school and homework. We occasionally talk about games, but that's it." He was thankful that Ryou was understanding when it came to taboo topics. Their topics were always so light and they were a breath of fresh air to him.

"Huh. I can only imagine what school will be like tomorrow for the both of them," Tristan said. "Hey, guys, you wanna hang out at the playground for a bit? The kids' park is just at the other side of this building."

"I'm not sure, Tristan, I still have to study for my exam on Statistics, also I have that English assignment to finish."

"Aww, come on, Yugi, just for a couple of hours. I promise we'll get you home with enough time to study and do your homework," Joey said as he wrapped an arm around Yugi's shoulders. "I'll even treat you to your favorite carbonated milk drink, even though I think it tastes gross."

When Yugi eventually agreed, they walked towards the playground where they used to hang out after school during their first year in high school. Yugi and Tea took seats on the swings while Tristan and Joey volunteered to get drinks at the nearby convenience store.

"Hey, Yugi, remember when you told me that you were bisexual?" Tea asked as she lazily swung back and forth.

"Yeah. What about it?" Yugi looked at the ground as he kicked the dirt around with the tips of his sneakers.

"Are you interested in anyone right now?" Tea eventually asked after biting her lip in hesitation. She felt her face warm so she tried to brush the question off. "I don't mean to pry and all. I was just genuinely curious, that's all. But if you don't feel like telling me that's okay too. I just figured since I'm your best friend,topics like this are okay to talk about." Tea bit her lip and mentally groaned. She sounded pathetic right now, not exactly an attractive trait. But maybe Yugi might find it endearing or adorable.

Yugi blinked at his best friend. He has never seen Tea ramble before. It looked so weird compared to her usual confident self. He then remembered her question which was another odd thing for her to ask. Did he dare say that he was interested in someone? She might ask who it was and he wasn't sure if he could lie flawlessly enough for her to not figure out who it is. He hasn't practiced that yet. But he also wanted his friends to be aware that he was interested in someone in the hopes that they would be accepting of him once Yugi reveals who he is just like they promised they would be. "Actually," Yugi said. He hesitated for a second before swallowing his anxiety. "Yeah, I am interested in someone right now. In fact, I've been interested in them for a long while now." Yugi didn't even realize that he was smiling fondly as he thought of Yami.

Tea froze in her seat on the swing. From the way Yugi smiled dreamily as he looked into space while talking, whoever this person was, Yugi must have fallen hard for them. But from the way he talked about it, it was possible that he could be talking about her. "Oh? What's she like?" she asked casually. A little description wouldn't hurt.

"This person is really sweet and funny. They're smart and a little sarcastic, but our sense of humor just match up which is great. We've spent a lot of time together and every time, I just want to spend even more time with them." He was being very careful with his pronouns. Tea was a smart girl, she will eventually catch on.

His brunette best friend was already chewing on her lip as he spoke. Tea wanted her heart to slow down right now, she didn't need to over-assume. It was a surprise she wasn't vibrating in giddiness with the way Yugi described the person he was interested in. She did pick up that Yugi was being careful with his pronouns, maybe it was because he was trying his best not to show that he was actually talking about her. "Maybe you should try and tell them how you really feel? Maybe they might share the same feelings as you do. If you've spent a lot of time with them, it's possible that they like you back on some level. I mean, even friends can get sick of each other at some point, they must like you just as much if they enjoy your company so much."

Yugi didn't reply at once, he seemed distracted with something.

Tea looked at Yugi closely. This could possibly be the moment that they would admit their feelings for each other. The setting was kind of romantic. The sun is about to set, they were alone in the park swinging on swings. It felt like that moment for her. She was waiting for him to admit his feelings for her so she could voice hers. As much as she wanted to just confess to him, she honestly had no idea how to put the topic out there. Not enough romance novels and movies could prepare her for this moment. Maybe she could watch more movies about friends eventually becoming lovers. That is if this moment came to pass with nothing happening.

The amethyst-eyed teen breathed out a sigh before speaking. "Maybe. But if we're being honest, I'm really not in that, I guess, time? Right now, I'm not thinking about being in a relationship or pursuing anyone."

The brunette felt as if she just got slapped with Yugi's words. "But, Yugi, what if they're just waiting on you to say something? They might just be too shy or too unsure if you feel the same way as they do."

"Honestly, Tea, I've shown a lot of signs that I like them. If they really felt the same way, if they really like me the same way or not, they should have said something by now." Yugi's tone was tired and unsure.

Tea contemplated on Yugi's words. He had a point. He'd shown his interest in Tea in a more discreet way, but it was sweet nonetheless. He took dance classes with her, just so she would have someone to talk to during class. He helped her keep her grades up so her parents could keep paying for her dance classes and also so she could get the grade requirement to become student council president. He was her listening ear no matter what type of girly problem she had, hell, he even endured having to listen to her gushing over Yami Sennen for years. Not even Joey and Tristan had enough patience for that, but Yugi did. He did it because he liked her.

"Yugi, I-"

But before she could confess, Joey came barreling in with Tristan and a few cans of sodas for the gang. "Hey, Yugi! They didn't have your favorite brand of carbonated milk, but they have the Korean brand, not sure if they taste the same or better, but here ya go, buddy," Joey handed the white can to his best friend and leaned over the small slide.

"Chocolate-flavored soy milk for, Tea," Tristan announced as he handed a bottle to Tea.

Tea pouted as she took her drink. It wasn't this moment yet. It was too soon and she just got the big slap on the face from Yugi when he said he didn't want to actively pursue anyone. She desperately needed a topic change. "So, guys, since we're all seniors, what do you guys plan on doing after graduation? I know I'll be trying to get into any dance school in New York. I haven't heard from any of them, but I hope it'll be soon."

Tristan groaned. "My dad wants me to work at his factory after graduation. As nice as it is to immediately have a job after graduation, I feel like it's boring compared to what others are going to do."

"Well, Yugi was able to help me bag that working student program at Kaiba Land," Joey started excitedly. "I'll be taking a mechanical engineering course at Domino University while I work as an apprentice mechanic for the rides in Kaiba Land. Of course, after graduation, I'm obligated to work for them for another three years, but it's better than jumping from one job to another." He looked at his amethyst-eyed friend. "I never properly thanked you for that, Yugi. So thank you." He bowed in gratitude in front of Yugi and smiled at his best friend.

"Well, grandpa did all the work and talking, I just found the program and you said you'd take it. Also, your experience in working as a car mechanic helped too," Yugi shrugged but smiled back at his best friend. "I'm just glad I could help. I have no idea what to do after graduation except maybe help grandpa with the shop."

"Didn't you thought of being an archaeologist before?" Tea asked.

Yugi nodded. "It seems interesting, but I also want to make my own games. Then I also want to stop for a year while I think about what I really want to do. Grandpa even suggested I go travelling for a year or two before going back to studying. I'm not really sure, but I've sent my applications to a lot of colleges just in case I figure out what I want to do at the last minute."

"Travelling? That sounds amazing, to be honest," Tea commented. "I wouldn't mind going around the world for a couple of years."

"Didn't your grandpa travel around the world too when he was younger?" Joey asked.

Yugi nodded. "He was a gambler and he funded his college education until his PhD through gambling."

"That sounds more exciting," Tristan sighed. "Maybe I could do that instead?"

"When you beat Yugi in a game, that's when you can consider living the life of a gambler," Joey laughed as he tapped Tristan at the back.

The rest of them laughed.

Yugi couldn't help but smile. He liked this. He liked the calm moments in his life where everything was normal and easy. No drama, no secrets, just him and his friends talking about the future, their dreams, and just joking around. This was easy.

The sun had already set when they decided to go home. At a four-way intersection, the group parted ways in pairs, Tristan and Joey crossed on the right, while Tea and Yugi went straight since Yugi had agreed to walk Tea home. After they've said their goodbyes, Yugi and Tea ran across the street since they only had a few seconds before the light went back to red. The walk towards Tea's house was suddenly silent and the air was thick with tension. Tea kept glancing over to Yugi waiting for the right moment to approach the subject again. She couldn't just blurt it out, she needed to be on some kind of momentum before she could confess her feelings.

It was unfortunate that they had already arrived at the front of her house. Maybe she could invite him over? That seemed a little on the nose.

"Good night, Tea. I had fun today."

"Yugi, I-"

Tea was about to talk when the tune of Ride of the Valkyries suddenly came on, interrupting her  _again_. The two friends jump at the sudden interruption. Yugi got his phone out and was suddenly worried. He was in big trouble. He forgot to tell Kisara that he was going home a little late and now she was calling. He closed his eyes and prayed to every god he knew that he didn't release hell upon himself as he dropped the call. When the tune stopped. He sighed and looked at his best friend. Time for his well-practiced lie that he prepared for this moment. "Sorry, Tea. That was grandpa. I forgot that he and I were going to go online on Skype for a call. He must be calling me since I'm not online right now. I gotta go! Bye!" He then turned around and ran, but not before answering the call when the tune rang again. "Hey! Yeah, sorry. I was with my friends and we hung out at the park. No, no. I'm on my way home now. Yeah. See you." Yugi turned around for one last wave goodbye and then he was off.

* * *

"But does it honestly bother you?" Yugi asked again. He still wasn't convinced that Kisara was okay with him and Yami. It felt too easy for her to just understand.

"That I'm doing your homework? That you forgot to tell me that you were coming home a little late? Not really," Kisara replied, her eyes still trained on Yugi's English homework.

Yugi was relieved that Kisara was understanding enough when he came home late without informing her. On the down side, he hadn't predicted that he would go home so late that he wouldn't have time to do his homework and study for their exam on Statistics. Thankfully, Kisara had offered to help do his homework for him while he studied and if she still had the time, she would tutor him with the subject. They decided to work in the living room together so they pushed the big couches away so they could fit a couple of futons around the coffee table. A big mug of black coffee was beside Kisara's laptop while she typed away Yugi's book report on Animal Farm. Yugi was adjacent from her on his own futon and was answering statistics problems on his textbook as a way of practicing for the exam. Thankfully, the teacher allowed them to use a calculator unlike their Pre-Calculus teacher from hell.

Kisara had offered to do his book report for him and the essay for his History class. He was thankful that Kisara was fluent in both English and Japanese that she could jump from one language to another. As much as he'd like to do the essay on the civilizations in Mesopotamia, he wasn't interested in it. His grandpa made him interested in Ancient Egypt while his dad made him interested in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Of course, Yugi had protested that it wasn't fair on Kisara's part to do a report on a book she hadn't read in so long. But his sister said that since the book was about tyrannical rule, who better to write the report but the one who had problem with authority. As for the history essay, Kisara said that the internet will provide.

Yugi put his pencil down and leaned back, his palms supporting his weight. "I meant about me and Yami. I don't get why it doesn't bother you."

Kisara eventually looked up from her laptop and tilted her head at the side. "Why would it bother me?"

The younger Mutou furrowed his brows. That was a good question. Deep inside, he didn't really know why would it bother his sister that he was sleeping with Yami. She wasn't a homophobe. Her adoptive parents are a gay couple, and she was bisexual. If anything, Kisara was strongly against homophobes. He suddenly felt a hand brush his hair and he looked up to see his sister smiling softly at him. "I feel like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop any second now," he said as he breathed out.

"That usually happens when you're so deep into your secrets that they're about to consume you," she explained. "Which is why I try my best to make you open up to me. You know why people say that there's no secret that doesn't get revealed? It's because people who keep them will always have this itching feeling to tell someone, especially when this secret is troubling them. Of course, some people will find other ways to let it out. That's kinda what anonymous blog posts are for."

Yugi shook his head. "How do you know these things?" he asked incredulously.

Kisara shrugged. "Dr. Martin told me about it," she answered. "Despite what my sea of appointed shrinks think, I actually pick up stuff from our sessions. I just look like I don't pay attention."

"But how do you remember all these things?"

"I remember the things that affect me the most. Those sessions did help me, but I was just too arrogant and too proud to admit it. Problem with authority remember?"

The teen let out a laugh and his sister joined in after a few moments. "How can I forget? I remember when you introduced me to your lawyer friend, Rafael. You told me that you used to be foster siblings back when you were still under the system and he was like a beloved big brother to you. I find that hard to believe when all you did was argue with him whenever he scolded you for being inappropriate." Kisara had introduced Yugi to some of the friends she had back when she was younger. One of them was Rafael who was an attorney now. At first, Yugi was scared out of his mind when he saw the big burly blond whom Kisara wouldn't stop teasing and insulting. He had a gruff persona but always looked at his sister with a gentle smile. At first, Yugi thought that Rafael was in love with his sister, but as it turns out, the big man was just protective and only saw her as his little sister and nothing more.

It made Yugi wonder what type of kid Kisara was like back then. He guessed that if he asked, she wouldn't hesitate to share. She already told him and grandpa that she was sent to juvy one summer for carjacking. Usually, people would be ashamed of it, but that wasn't the case for her. While they were hanging out with Rafael, Yugi felt a bit jealous that the guy was part of Kisara's childhood. He was able to experience being Kisara's brother, live in a house and be a family with her. And from the way they would fondly talk about the past, Kisara seemed like a fun sister back when they were just growing up. Yugi never got that and he felt left out because of it. While Kisara was doing her best to be his sister now, he sometimes wondered what his life would have been like if their parents kept her and raised her along with him.

During the past two weeks, he couldn't help but listen to some of the messages their parents would leave for them, begging them to answer the phone and talk to them so they could explain. He could still remember that certain message their father left before Kisara decided to tinker with the answering machine.

It was the fifth time the phone rang that week and Kisara's patience was wearing thin. Of course, it was mostly because Esmeralda had called and left a very disturbing message asking their grandpa how much he wanted so they would be quiet and leave her daughter, Aiko, alone. When the outgoing message finished playing, it was their dad that spoke.

_"Dad? It's me Yuichi. Please, pick up the phone and let me explain. I know hiding our daughter from you and lying to you was wrong on so many levels. But please understand, we didn't want to disappoint you. I know you expected me and Aiko to get married after we had our daughter, but we already made the decision to go our separate ways. We didn't want the child to grow up in a divorced family. But we-"_

The message ended there and before their father could call again, Yugi pulled the phone line from the socket out of frustration. They may not have wanted Kisara to grow up in a divorced family but they still had him and they divorced not long after. What a joke.

"What do we tell them?" Yugi asked. He didn't need to tell her what he meant by "them".

Kisara's eyes suddenly became sullen. She let out a big sigh then shook her head. "I honestly don't know. What about you? What do you think? You're the one who has talked to them in the past. I never knew them remember?"

"The last time I talked to them, they wanted to pretend that we were a happy family. Like they didn't abandon me to live their own lives. They told me it was the least they could do for me." Yugi hadn't noticed it, but his fists were clenched as he looked back at the memory. "They've been divorced for a few weeks then. They tried to do a trial run and lived in the game shop with me and grandpa to maybe try and see if we could be a family again. That just made it worse." One thing he had discovered about their parents was that everything they did with regards to their family will always be motivated by their guilt.

Yugi suddenly froze when he felt Kisara cuddle next to him. Her arms were wrapped around his waist and her head was on his shoulder. "Life sucks and we got the shitty end of it," she said.

The younger Mutou shook his head and let her cuddle with him. Kisara had eventually used him as a cuddle partner for when she was stressed out, which didn't bother him at all. He discovered she was very clingy and touchy when she needs to calm her nerves. "What do you think our life would be like if we actually grew up together?"

Kisara looked up at her brother, "Can't say for sure, baby brother. I mean, I know I wouldn't have problems with authority if that happened. It would depend on how we grew up. I'd most probably be in college or something."

"What? You wouldn't be the big shot Dragon of the Business world?" Yugi teased.

The older Mutou sibling giggled. "No. And stop reading articles about me!" She slapped Yugi's arm lightly. "According to Dr. Murai, a child psychologist working for social services at the time, my problem with authority is my way of punishing my parents for abandoning me. But then again, Dr. Sorano, another child psychologist, told me that it was my way of grabbing attention because I feel unloved. Doctors have their own opinions. When a person's temperature is up and he has colds, it could just mean a flu, but a doctor could also see them as dengue fever or some other thing."

Yugi felt Kisara's hand tremble as she spoke. Talking about the many therapy sessions she had back in the day must be difficult for her. He had only had the one session with the court appointed child psychologist who asked him who he wanted to stay with. And he was fifteen back then. The guy was very weird and kept asking Yugi who told him to choose who, as if he wasn't capable of choice. Yugi imagined having to go through that for most of his life, maybe he would end up hating it too.

"I'm going to miss the calm of Japan when I leave for America," Kisara sighed. "I'm going to make sure I get back as soon as possible."

"You don't have to leave, Kisara. Didn't you say that you could work here?" Yugi pleaded. He wasn't really sure if he and Kisara were okay. It's possible that she might change her mind and decide she prefers to be with her adoptive family instead.

Kisara sighed and pulled away from her brother so she could go back to her seat on her own futon. "I wish I could, Yugi. But most of my meetings require me to be there in person. I have to sign over two out of the five startups that I own and I'll be delegating tasks and responsibilities to the new management. Rafael's already there talking to the lawyer I used to talk to there just to speed things up." Her attention was now back to the book report. "I'm doing everything I can to speed up and shorten my stay there. I honestly don't want to stay longer than a week."

"Are you seeing your dads while you're there?" Yugi asked. Kisara always seem to be in a lighter when talking about her adoptive fathers.

The older sibling shook her head. "They're in California right now. Dad is working on his Asian tour with his band while Papa is planning his performances on Europe."

"Don't you miss them?"

"Of course I do. I talk to them almost everyday when our schedules permit it. It helps that Skype is a thing, also email."

Yugi pouted and stared at his lap. He was slightly jealous that even for a short time, Kisara was able to experience being in a normal family setting. Granted it wasn't the conventional ones, she was adopted, but it was better than what he had. He remembered coming home to an empty house wherein he had to stay in his room all night while he did his homework, trying to sleep at night and tuning out the fighting going on in the living room, and also hearing about another child that they gave away for adoption. As much as they tried to make sure they never argued in front of him, he could feel the unsettling tension between his parents.

He looked at his sister while she was back at her work. He tried to put himself in her position. How does she look at his own family life? She must feel jealous of him as well, that even though he was born into a doomed marriage, he was still surrounded by his real family. He had grandpa who fought and protected him tooth and nail to gain custody. That despite being the victim of their parents' separation, he was still being taken cared of by family. He was being raised by grandpa while she had to jump from family to family. He only got a somewhat stable family when she was fifteen or sixteen. But she was already heartbroken from the indirect rejection that she spent most of her life before she met her adopted parents.

The younger Mutou sibling yawned then pouted. "What time is it? It can't be  _that_ late yet," he said as he looked at the wall clock. "It's already ten? That's ridiculous!"

"It's bed time for the minor who still has educational responsibilities," Kisara announced. She had insisted to put futons, blankets and pillows at the living room so he could sleep at the living room to use more time studying and less time preparing for bed. Yugi could leave his stuff on the table and Kisara has promised to fix everything in his bag for him along with the homework she also volunteered to do. "Anything you particularly like for breakfast and lunch?"

"Black coffee for breakfast and a four-hour energy shot for lunch please," Yugi replied as he lie down on the futon.

Kisara chuckled. "You're not a college student yet. Might I suggest extra hot miso soup for breakfast, and coffee cake with extra coffee for lunch?"

"Sounds amazing," Yugi replied as he yawned and closed his eyes. "Make it so, sister dear."

"Good night, baby brother," Kisara smiled as she kissed Yugi's temple before going back to her seat to continue her work.

The next morning, Yugi woke up to Kisara talking on the phone.

"So on the first day, my meeting would be with Kaiba Corp execs for our IPO case." Yugi still had his eyes closed but he was already awake. He could hear Kisara's voice faintly. "Wait that's it? The whole fucking day on the first day I'm there I'm  _only_ going to talk to people from Kaiba Corp? Is this your way of punishing me for disappearing on you?"

Yugi moaned as he stretched. The living room floor was surprisingly comfortable and he had a nice sleep compared to the times he had to sleep on the couch when he and Yami were together. After stretching he slowly sat up to see that his bag was already on the coffee table with all his things inside and a small bento beside it. He stood up to see breakfast already waiting for him while Kisara was still on the phone. Before he walked over to the dining area, he chanced a glance at the wall clock and was pleasantly surprised that it was only five thirty in the morning.

Kisara walked over to Yugi and offered a chair while she was still talking to her assistant on the phone. "Did you at least give me five hours of sleep in the night time or did you remove that from my schedule as well?" She ruffled Yugi's hair and served him a steaming bowl of miso soup as promised. Yugi was good with English and he could pick a few curse words during Kisara's phone call that made him chuckle. When Kisara eventually ended the call he looked up to see her mixing something in a bowl beside a tin of mini coffee cakes.

"I didn't know you were serious when you said you'd make me coffee cake," Yugi said with a smile.

"Well, you need to be awake for school so I figured I'd give you extra strong coffee. I actually bought like five espresso shots from the coffee shop three blocks away just to make this as strong as humanly acceptable." She showed what she was mixing in the bowl, "I'm adding the rest of the espresso shots in the icing because I care for you that much."

Yugi nodded as he downed the rest of his breakfast. He got up and went to the bathroom for a quick shower and change for school. When he went back down to the main living area, his bag was already on the dining table and his lunch was already beside it, along with the coffee cake his sister made for him. Kisara was already in front of her laptop with her phone glued to her ear talking to people. Yugi checked his bag just in case Kisara forgot anything. Once he got everything he needed he waved goodbye at his sister who smiled as he left.

They were going to be okay.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand yeah. That's the 8th chapter. Nothing flashy, just dropping some hints here and there. These people need to rest from all the drama tbh. BTW, a round of applause for Marik, the best boyfriend ever, who will not stand down when his alone time with his boyfriend is on the line. LOL! The concept of the "Secret Files" page came from my college. We also had that, and it was quite...scandalous. A lot of the stories there went viral and a lot of people wanted to know who was who.
> 
> So sorry for not posting so soon. I had a lot of urgent issues at work that needed to be done so I've put a lot of my writing on hold. But I'm back and hopefully the next chapter will be up sooner unlike this one. As always, tell me what you guys think.


	9. Turning Points

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: First part of the chapter is lemon.

Hand in hand, the two of them went down the familiar path to the bedroom with Yami leading the way. Closing the door, they were now surrounded by the darkness of the bedroom, with only the moon as their source of light from the window. Yami sat on the bed and pulled the other into his embrace. Keeping eye contact, he slowly removed the other’s clothes, his fingers exploring the newly revealed flesh in front of him. His tan hands stood out against Yugi’s alabaster skin, he had to control the urge to bite the pale flesh. It’s amazing how opposite they were in so many ways and yet they fit together like puzzle pieces. Yugi’s skin was pale as the moon, while his was kissed by the sun. His red eyes made him look demonic, while Yugi had a smile that made him look like an angel. Maybe opposites do attract, because Yami always felt drawn to the boy in front of him. And he felt the possessive side of him come out again as he thought of someone’s hands on Yugi’s body. When the teen was now fully naked in front of him, he laid back on the bed, taking the teen with him. Before his whole body hit the bed, their lips were sealed in a hungry kiss.

It felt weird for Yugi to be completely naked and be on top of a fully-clothed Yami. But the fabric of Yami’s uniform rubbing against his overly heated body was an amazing feeling, he couldn’t help but rub against the body beneath him. The cold material of Yami’s clothings felt amazing, combined with the cold night air, he was shivering in delight at the sensations. Yugi then felt his back hit the bed and he groaned when Yami pulled back. He opened his eyes to see the other teen stripping in front of him. 

Skin was now touching skin and Yami felt Yugi cling to him. As usual, Yami buried his head in Yugi’s neck to mark him. Mark him and claim him the way others couldn’t. Fingers were now digging into his scalp, encouraging him. It was evident that Yugi wanted him, he could feel that want poking his stomach. Yami’s hands slid down and grabbed Yugi’s hands to pin them down beside Yugi’s head. He so wanted to tell him that Yugi was his, but he suddenly remembered that he had a filter so he stopped himself. His heart swelled at the sight of the other teen beneath him looking at him with lust and need. Yami dove down and marked his territory again on Yugi’s lips by sucking and biting on it. Their members rubbed against each other and it was like a switch for both of them as they clawed at each other to get that same sensation. Bending his legs at the knees, Yugi spread his legs wide, silently telling Yami that he wanted to be taken tonight

With one hand buried in Yugi’s hair, Yami prepared the teen beneath him while he kissed him thoroughly. Whenever Yugi dug his nails in Yami’s shoulders, Yami would pull on his hair gently then bite his lips back in retaliation.

“Yami, please,” Yugi whined when his bundle of nerves was hit again.

But Yami wasn’t going to give Yugi what he wanted until  _ he _ was satisfied. With his fingers still buried in the lithe body, he thrusted in Yugi hard as he bit on his ear. “Tell me what you want, Yugi.” He wanted to hear Yugi tell him that he wanted him, and only him. Nothing would turn him on more. “Come on, little one. I want to hear that voice of yours.  _ Tell me _ ,” he purred out his order which elicited a delicious moan from Yugi.

The amethyst-eyed teen’s senses were heightened in the dark and he could tell Yami was taking advantage of that. He could faintly hear that gruff order and his ability to speak was already gone. Yami was playing his body like an instrument and the music coming out were his moans, groans, and begging. His hands tugged at Yami’s hair and his hips bucked at Yami. He needed release and he needed to be taken, now. “Yami, please.  _ I need you _ ,” he whined.

The boy on top stopped his teasing for a split second when his mind processed what he just heard. His heart was now pounding and he buried his face in Yugi neck as he sighed in relief while he withdrew his fingers. Spreading Yugi’s legs a little wider, Yami couldn’t help but caress the silky smooth skin of the other boy’s thighs, squeezing them greedily before he lined himself at Yugi’s waiting entrance. Entering Yugi felt like heaven when paired with the teen chanting his name like a prayer over and over again. Yami wanted them to stay like this forever, with Yugi focusing on him and nothing else. No Tea, no Duke, no problems, no drama. Just the two of them under the faint light of the moon inside Yugi’s room, moving together.

No matter how many times Yami wanted to possess Yugi, he will always be Yugi’s most loyal servant. He would oblige for every scream for more. Even outside the bedroom, he was at Yugi’s mercy and he would forever stay there as long as he’d have him. It scared him how willing he was when it came to anything that Yugi wanted of him. But it didn’t sound like a bad thing when it meant that they could be like this, him surrounded by Yugi and the amethyst-eyed teen’s attention was on him and only him.

With fingers gripping tightly on his hair, Yami winced. Yugi was getting close and so was he. Reaching the ultimate high with Yugi was overwhelming. The other teen would make a face. Amethyst eyes squinted but not fully closed. His teeth biting his lower lip to keep him from screaming to the heavens. Yami buried his fingers into Yugi’s hair and lost his mind to the pleasure they were sharing. Reaching the pinnacle, Yami closed his eyes and groaned out as he released with Yugi.

After collapsing on top of Yugi, Yami tried to catch his breath, still with Yugi tight in his arms. When he felt the body beneath him squirm, he chuckled lightly and flopped on his side of the bed. It was already second nature to him to automatically envelop Yugi in his arms. The other teen was already closing his eyes due to fatigue, but relented nonetheless to cuddle with Yami face-to-face. Yami shivered when he felt Yugi’s breath fan across his naked chest.

“I like you, Yugi."

Amethyst eyes blinked open, all traces of sleep and fatigue gone, as the teen heard those words. His whole body froze and he was pretty sure his heart and brain stopped along with it. Did he hear it right? He wasn't sure, but his brain was telling him that he did hear those exact words. There was no way he could face his companion without freaking out. Sweaty palms, rapid heartbeat, and a cold sweat, this must be what having a panic attack feels like. He remembered his conversation with his sister about what she does when she felt like she was close to having a panic attack. But instead of doing that, he was thinking of how inappropriate it was of him to not say anything. How long has he been silent? Should he face them now? He figured, he should have by now, so he slowly lifted his head to face the music.

Yugi willed for his brain to say something, anything. But all he could do was look at Yami through the darkness of his room, the crescent moon shining through his skylight was the only source of light for him. 

"I'm sorry," the other person said, obviously uneasy now. "I didn't mean to say that."

Yugi narrowed his eyes and pouted. "Then why did you say it if you didn't mean it?" Well this was unexpected. But if he was being honest, this whole thing caught him off guard. Out of all the romantic comedies he’s watched with Tea, none of them were accurate enough to describe this moment. All those love stories would show how people look and react when someone confesses their attraction to them. They’re usually shocked but also happy, like it’s the greatest thing that’s ever happened to them. 

The silence was so unnerving to him, but he was grateful for it. It gave him time to think things over. But just like before, he was thinking of how long did he have before the silence became more awkward and mean something entirely. He wanted to say that he didn’t know what to say. But he knew exactly what to say, it’s just that he wasn’t sure he wanted to say it just yet. Just thinking about it made him want to roll his eyes at how pathetic he sounded. Also, he hated the rambling in his head. He could already hear his sister laughing and taunting him for it, right after being scolded for not answering right away.

He seriously wished she was here right now to tell him what to do. She was always good with advice. Perfect even. But she’s not here right now so he had to make do. What was her constant advice?

_ If you don’t want to think about it then you don’t have to. _

Pretty solid advice. It didn’t fit the current situation though, seeing as he felt like he was at a game show and he only had ten seconds to answer. “Pass” and “next question, please” were not valid answers in this scenario either. 

It was that train of thought that made him decide that Kisara isn’t perfect after all. She can give crap advice too.

"You misunderstand, Yugi. I..." the other teen hesitated and looked down at their hands. "I do like you. It's just that, I didn't plan on saying it out of the blue." 

_ I told you so. _ Yugi was hearing Kisara right now. And he wasn’t amused especially since he heard her teasing evil giggle she does when she's been proven right.

He stared at the other teen and sighed. “It’s alright. I’m not mad or anything, if anything, I-” he hesitated. Gods above. How was it so difficult to say it out loud? This was ridiculous. The opportunity was already given to him and he’s not taking advantage of it right now.

“It’s okay, Yugi. You don’t have to say anything. I just wanted you to know, you know? It’s really hard knowing that I like you and you don’t even know. You know-”

“Yami, I swear I won’t be responsible for my actions if you say ‘you know’ one more time.” Yugi rolled his eyes for a bit. Gods, Yami loved to babble when he’s nervous. It was his tell. It made Yugi realize that the other teen must never feel nervous during a duel because he always looks so calm and calculating on screen. He wasn’t sure if he was going to be relieved or not. On the bright side, Yami wasn’t expecting an answer from him. The darkness his bedroom provided gave him some kind of space even though the other teen was just literally a few inches away from him. He could tell him how he really felt but he knew he was physically incapable of that right now. So he figured he could just say the worst thing to say right now but it was also the best thing to say as well. “Thanks, Yami.”

The silence fell upon them again. Neither teen knew what to say next. Yami wasn’t exactly sure what came over him when he said that. He didn’t regret it, although he wished he didn’t admit his feelings tonight, after sex no less. He was already listing down the many questions Yugi could ask him. What happens now? Are we going to date now? Do we stop this? When did you realize you liked me? The last one he was hoping Yugi wouldn't ask, because "Since I first saw you" didn't feel like a cool answer at the moment. It might make him sound like a stalker, really. Although, thinking about it, he really didn't know when he started liking Yugi, but he was sure he was attracted to the amethyst-eyed teen that first night. Under the dim party lights at Miho's living room, everyone was dancing somewhere, even on the tables. And that's how he saw Yugi dancing happily to the music. And he looked absolutely deli-

Yami had to stop himself right there. This is not the time to have a boner right now. He looked at Yugi and tried to breathe evenly and calm his rapidly beating heart. Yugi just said “Thanks” which is the last thing he wanted to hear but he should have expected that. Now he needed to know where that puts him in Yugi’s life. He should be focusing on that right now. He tried to study Yugi's reaction, although the teen had a ridiculously amazing poker face worthy of Vegas casino tables. Yugi looked like he was frozen in place though, which is a bad thing. This was seriously bad timing on Yami's part, he was willing to admit that. He didn’t plan on admitting that he liked Yugi while they were both naked, on Yugi’s bed, and just after sex. What  _ did _ he expect Yugi to reply? Of course he was going to just get a “Thanks” from him. He was about to speak when his own body stopped him by yawning.

“Shall we call it a night?” Yugi offered. 

The other teen nodded and closed his eyes. Slowly, he started to turn and face away from Yugi’s side of the bed to avoid the very awkward situation he’s put him in. There was no turning back and he refused to take back what he said. But if given the chance, he would have shut up instead of confessing. The silver lining was that he didn’t say something stupid like “I love you”. Now  _ that _ would have made things extra uncomfortable for both of them. What surprised him was the warmth of Yugi’s arm wrapping around his waist. Yami’s back was now against Yugi’s front as they spooned on the bed. The crimson-eyed teen focused on Yugi’s breathing that he could feel on his nape.

Breathe in.

Breath out.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

He kept focusing on the even breathing of the other person that he almost missed the soft whisper of Yugi’s words.

“I like you too, Yami.”

 

* * *

 

“Did you and Yugi fight last night or something, Yami?”

The teen in question almost choked on his soda at Mana’s unexpected question. His cousins weren’t any help at all when they decided to just snicker in response. Once Yami was able to compose himself, he looked at his friend who was genuinely curious. “What?” he asked after his coughing fit.

The brunette rolled her eyes and pouted. “I  _ said _ , did you and Yugi fight last night or something?” 

“What made you think that we did?”

"Your auras are out of whack," she said as a matter of factly. She reached over at Bakura's food to snatch a chicken strip. When Bakura scowled at her she just rolled her eyes. "Technically that's my food. If you want, I'm willing to share your lettuce wraps with you."

Bakura scoffed, "Pass. Just don't eat all of it."

Mana beamed, "Of course." She then turned to her crimson-eyed friend. "Now, about you and Yugi fighting," she pointed with her fork. "What's up? You said you guys were done with the project last night, and yet you guys are so tense and on edge. Your auras used to be in sync with each other and now they're...weird." She chose her words carefully knowing how people usually reacted on how she normally saw auras. "Okay. See, I've been noticing how you and Yugi's auras are so different yet so in sync all the time. This usually happens when two people spend a lot of time together," she explained. "You and Yugi have been working together on school projects that your auras will naturally be in sync. The more natural you guys are with each other, the more in harmony they are. Now, your auras look different both in color and attitude." 

Raising an eyebrow, Yami had to ask. “You once told me I had a shiny gold aura with a dash of red, and Yugi has silver, yellow, and blue. How can we have matching auras if the colors are different?”

Rolling her eyes, Mana almost stabbed another chicken strip from Bakura’s lunch that made the white-haired teen jump. “Stop changing the subject, Yami. So did you fight with Yugi or something?”

Scoffing, Yami raised an eyebrow but knew better than to compete with Mana in a staring contest so he yielded. “Nothing you should be concerned about, Mana.”

Instead of asking what happened, Mana just looked over at Yugi’s table with a small pout. “You both seem to be okay. He looks so distracted though.”

The other occupants of the lunch table looked incredulously at their female friend. What would they give to see the world through her eyes just so they could understand what she was talking about. Her eyes were always wide with wonder and observing everything. It was this quirk that made Bakura and Marik want her company. She was fascinating to them. Of course, at first, they tolerated her presence mostly because she was Yami’s friend. But then her observations, firecracker personality, and the fact that she could even match up to them when it came to barking just made her prime company. 

“Ooh! Bakura!” she exclaimed excitedly which scared the shit out of the named white-haired teen.  “You never told me you were dating Ryou!” she scolded lightly. 

The white-haired teen just rolled his eyes and ignored the brunette for a moment. “Oh, Yami, I forgot to say,” Bakura said. “Seto’s coming back this Thursday so we’re all free to do as we please tomorrow.”

Considering everything that went down last night, he wasn’t even sure he wanted to face Yugi. He never pictured their confession as something that would cause a rift between them. Thankfully, his friends gave him a good distraction.

“Interesting you’re so calm about the whole school finding out that you and Ryou are dating,” Marik commented.

The white-haired teen just shrugged. “People were bound to know sooner or later.”

“Don’t you ignore me Bakura Sennen! Why have you never told me about him?” Mana whined.

Raising an eyebrow, Bakura just scoffed. “You never asked.” He then pointed to his cousins, “These guys asked one time and I told them.”

“When?” she asked with a frustrated pout.

“A few weeks ago,” Marik answered. “The two of them were close. Like  _ abnormally  _ close. So we asked. Bakura isn’t exactly one to hide stuff from us.”

“Because I don’t see the need to,” Bakura finished. “Look, Ryou and I have been dating recently and it’s no big deal. This place just likes to make drama out of mundane things that they shouldn’t even bother with.”

“Where is Ryou anyways?” Marik asked.

“He’s with Yugi at the library. He wanted Yugi to help him with that stupid homework our Pre-Calculus teacher gave us.” It was Yami who answered, his eyes glued to his English textbook. 

“Why didn’t you join them?” Marik asked with a teasing smirk.

The crimson-eyed teen raised an eyebrow at his cousin. “Yugi and I finished our assignment last night while we also finished our projects. Besides, we’re going to the library during our free period to finish our history report.”

“Sounds like a productive night,” Bakura commented.

Yami knew this game. The teasing was just to annoy him, because annoying him was their favorite game. “It was, actually,” he smiled proudly. He has yet to tell them about what went down last night before he and Yugi fell asleep. Maybe he could tell them once he and Yugi were able to talk about it. 

Of course his cousins didn’t miss the hidden meaning from his words. The both of them just raised their eyebrows questioningly and he just replied by giving them a look that made them understand that he was going to tell them everything when he got the time.

 

* * *

 

“Hey, Tea.”

The brunette looked up to meet with cat-like green eyes of Duke Devlin. “Hello, Duke. Can I help you?” Tea asked politely.

“Yeah, you know where Yugi is?”

Raising an eyebrow, Tea crossed her arms. “He’s probably with Yami finishing up their world history report. Why?”

“Oh. I’m surprised you’re not with them. You’re not the jealous type are you?”

“Excuse me?”

“I mean, I know I would be if the guy I like, who is bisexual, spends more time with someone else than with me.” He took the seat in front of Tea’s desk and propped his elbows on Tea’s desk.

“Yugi’s my friend and he’s free to spend time with anyone he wants—”

“As long as they’re not a threat to your relationship with Yugi,” Duke teased.

“Yugi and I are not together.”

“That’s true.” Duke flicked a stray tendril of his raven hair. “I’m curious as to why though. Anyone would be lucky to have him don’t you agree?”

Tea kept silent. She was seriously not liking this guy. And she wasn’t going to dignify his question with a response.

“I’ll take your silence as a yes then,” Duke smirked. “I was actually surprised when I found out that Yugi’s single. He’s so cute don’t you think? First thing that caught my eye were those big beautiful expressive eyes of his. Have you ever noticed them? Of course you’ve seen them, being friends with him for so long. But have you ever noticed how amazing they are to look at?”

Tea was outright scowling now. “What’s your point, Duke?”

“Well, I wanted to get to know my competition. I know Yami Sennen is one of them.”

This made Tea freeze in her seat. What was he talking about? She never even knew Yami liked guys, let alone Yugi. “And you know this how?”

“I just do. I notice things. I thought my hardest competition would be you given the rumors that Yugi  _ had _ a crush on you, but as it turns out, Yami might beat you to it.” Duke stood up and looked at Tea one last time. “You don’t notice it, but I do. You’re not the object of his affections anymore. I also noticed that he’s the object of _your_ affections though. Poetic, if you ask me. Or maybe ironic? Tragic might be the best term,” he said before leaving the classroom.

When Duke was gone, Tea got up and started walking towards the library to find her best friend. She didn’t believe Duke, or at least that’s what she was telling herself. Maybe if she witnessed it for herself, it would confirm that Duke was just messing with her. 

The library was on the top floor, it was also the most deserted floor in the whole building, except now, the seniors have been crowding the library to get a shot at the computer area. The librarian had to actually ban some of the students for being too noisy. Tea entered the library and just as she suspected, there were a lot of people over where the rows of computers were. She figured Yugi and Yami weren’t there since Yugi told her that they were already done with their computer project and they only had their world history report to work on. Even as the student council president, she wasn’t a frequent visitor of the library, it took her a bit of time to eventually find the history section and when she turned the corner, she had to stop herself before she got caught by the two teens studying alone at the long table. Looking for a space between the books, Tea slowly walked on the other side of the shelf opposite the two boys.

As she watched them from afar, they looked awkward, like they didn’t want to be in each other’s presence at the moment. That seemed to calm her nerves a little as she silently left the library undetected. When she left the wooden double doors, at the end of the hall, she spotted the familiar lax form of Duke Devlin leaning against the wall.

“Someone’s paranoid,” he teased. He walked up to the brunette and took too much of her personal space. “You have nothing to worry about, Tea. I mean, you’re pretty. You’ll find someone else that will care for you the way Yugi  _ used to _ .” He chuckled lowly before leaving.

When the raven-haired teen was nowhere in sight, Tea was able to breathe normally again. It was also then that she had finally decided.

It was now or never.

 

* * *

 

Tea entered class 4-A to see an almost empty classroom. She instantly spotted Yugi who was still scribbling on his notebook furiously, must be some few extra notes he needed. His last class was Pre-Calculus and it was his hated subject, mostly because of the teacher. Ryou was also writing something down on his notebook and he kept sneaking a few peeks at Yugi’s notes. By the door, Tea spotted Yami who was reading through his worksheet, and was completely unaware of the brunette’s arrival. There were less than five other students left in the classroom who were also busy with their work. They must have had a pretty tough lecture today for them to stay even after the final bell. 

Tea had a plan as she slowly walked up to Yugi’s seat at the other side of the room. She planned on insisting to walk with Yugi going home and maybe take the scenic route so she could say what she needed to say. She wanted it to be special and private. She wanted it to be a moment she could look back fondly.

“Hey, Yugi!” she greeted with a bright smile. “Tough day?” She turned and waved at Ryou as a courtesy. She half suspected that maybe Ryou was also her competition for Yugi’s attention, but dismissed it when she found out about him and Bakura Sennen.

Not looking at his friend, Yugi replied, “Yeah, Tea. I’m just finishing up these last few equations. Where are Joey and Tristan?”

“The usual,” she replied simply

“Remedial class,” they said in unison and they couldn’t help but giggle.

Worrying her lip, Tea suddenly felt a bit awkward just watching Yugi take notes. Him still not looking up at her just added to the awkwardness. “So, Yugi, are you ready to go home?”

Finally, Yugi looked up, “Not yet, Tea, you can go on ahead. I still have to pass this worksheet to sensei. Besides, you don’t have to worry about me, Yami will walk with me home since he needs to pick up something from my place.”

Blinking, Tea turned around and looked at Yami who was looking at Yugi. He had an amused smile on his face and, she wasn’t sure if she saw that right, he winked at Yugi and smirked.

Yami started packing up and walked up to Yugi’s seat holding his own worksheet. “You finished?” he asked casually.

“Nope,” Yugi growled. He then turned to Tea, “Honestly, Tea, I’ll be okay. You should go on ahead.”

It was like Tea’s mind was on overdrive as she pictured her romantic scene but this time Yami was in her place. The picturesque scenery of Domino during the sunset as they walk towards Yugi’s house. Going through the scenic route, the light from the sunset would poke through the treetops along their path. The familiar river they would all hang out at with the whole gang just below them. They would take a short detour at the already empty children’s park just to hang out and talk. Yami would then stand in front of Yugi who was seated on one of the swings. He would lean by the bar support on the swing and look dreamily at Yugi. Feeling a bit uncomfortable and a little amused with Yami’s dream-like stare, Yugi would look up and ask what was up, then Yami will simply shake his head and say that it was nothing. Building up the courage, Yami will then stare at Yugi with determination and say the most important words.

“I like you, Yugi.”

The whole classroom was suddenly silent. Tea’s confession was louder than she planned, but it was too late now. It was already out there. She also didn’t plan to say it. She was too consumed in her twisted version of a nightmare that she never realised that she spoke out loud. The brunette studied the shocked expression on her best friend’s face. She didn’t care what everyone thinks right now. At this moment, all she cared was how Yugi thought of her and her confession, and right now his face wasn’t saying much. He just looked shocked. She needed to fill the dead air somehow. It was now or never.

“I only realized lately that I do like you. And I wanted to let you know.” She left out the part that she wanted to let Yugi know before someone else catches his attention.

“Tea I-” Yugi hesitated, unsure of what to say. This was the second time this week someone has confessed that they liked him and he still had no idea how to answer properly. Did he want to say that he liked her too? But that was in the past. He liked someone else now, he already admitted that. Also, it wouldn’t be fair to her to just say that he liked her back to save face, it was wrong. Then he also couldn’t say that he didn’t like her. He already told her he liked someone,  _ really like _ someone. If it wasn’t her, then she would want to know. He shook his head to rid him of the thoughts messing with his brain. “Tea, I don’t know what to say,” he whispered, wary of the few people watching them. He was also very much aware of Yami beside him. “You like me?” Stupid question seeing as she already said it. But he needed confirmation, and time to think. That’s what was always lacking for him during moments like this. Time to think. He needed to stall her before she demanded a legitimate reply from him that he was not prepared to give.

Tea chanced a glance at Yami who was expressionless as he stared back and forth at her and Yugi. He looked more like an unsuspecting audience than a jealous competitor for Yugi’s attention. If what Duke said was true and he liked Yugi, then he should have done something about it now, but he didn’t. Her shining blue eyes went back to her best friend. “Yeah, Yugi. I do. I like you.” What she really wanted to say was that she was in love with him, but she knew better than to freak Yugi out with things like the dreaded L-word.

“Why?”

That question pulled both Tea and Yami from their thoughts. But unlike Yami, Tea knew why Yugi asked that and she was prepared to answer that. She had been practicing it over and over again since she realized her feelings. “I want to say that you’re my best friend and you’re the greatest person I’ve ever had the chance to be close with, but that doesn’t cover all the reasons why I like you,” she started. She could feel her voice shaking so a break was needed. This wasn’t like her student council speeches or the many interviews she had for dance schools in Tokyo and New York. This was her chance to prove herself to the one she fell in love with. “Yugi, you were always so nice and sweet to me when I never asked you to. You always listened to my whining with an understanding smile on your face. I know how annoying I could be, I’m not oblivious to that, but not once did you ever let me feel that way. To tell you the truth, every guy I’ve ever dated, I always wish they would be more like you. It didn’t seem right for me to like you because we were best friends and I didn’t want that to change.” She looked at Yugi’s dazzling eyes again and her heart was beating faster. How had she not seen how beautiful they were? “But, I don’t think I want to live my life not being able to tell you how I feel. And, Yugi, I could date every guy in the world, but I know I wouldn’t be happy because they’re not you. You mean so much to me, Yugi, please believe that.” Her eyes were hopeful as she waited for Yugi’s reply.

What do you say after that? Yugi was flattered but he also didn’t know how to reject Tea without humiliating her. She just poured her heart out to him and he was just going to trample it. He felt awful suddenly. 

"Yugi," Tea continued before Yugi could reply. "I'm here. I'm already showing you that I like you. I know I'm a little late to express it but, I want to say that I do notice you and everything you've ever done for me." Her eyes were shining and her smile was so bright and hopeful, it was actually painful for Yugi to look at. "You once told me that you've done everything to express how much you like me and now, I'm here to tell you that I like you too. You may not want to pursue me, but let me show you how much I like you in return for everything you've done for me. It seems backwards and people will judge us for it, but let them judge. Let  _ me _ pursue  _ you _ ." She had always dreamed of her prince charming. The guy who would make her swoon with the way he would spoil her. The guy who would sweep her off her feet. She was late to realize that that guy was already in front of her. And while she’s too late to enjoy what could have been Yugi spoiling her out of love, she now had to prove her feelings to Yugi. He deserved that after everything he’s ever done for her.

“I’m sorry, Tea,” he whispered the words.

It was like there were tears ready to spill from her eyes the moment Tea heard Yugi’s apology. Her ribcage was suddenly too tight for her lungs and her heart. She figured she wouldn’t be rejected by Yugi since he knew first hand what it felt to be rejected. For some reason, she felt like her hands were slowly getting numb starting from the fingertips. She looked over to Yami who still had a poker face, although his discomfort was evident. He seemed to want to leave that scene as fast as possible. He wasn’t reacting and Yugi hasn’t glanced his direction during the whole exchange. If it wasn’t her and it wasn’t Yami that Yugi liked, then who? Who does Yugi spend a lot of time with that made the amethyst-eyed teen forget about her?

“Tea, I’ll admit that I liked you one time, but I don’t anymore.” 

People always say “Let her down easy” but he had no idea how to do that. Rejection was never easy, especially when you’re on the receiving end. Rejecting someone was especially hard for Yugi since it’s something he didn’t really want to do. He also knew that leading Tea on would only do more bad than good, so he had to filter his words carefully and not make him look like he didn’t care that he was hurting her.

The words were getting harder for her to take. The pain was slowly turning to anger. Anger that rooted from how stupid she was for admitting ever liking Yugi. It was also this anger that made her throw caution to the wind and grabbed Yami unexpectedly so she could crush her lips on his in a desperate kiss. Maybe seeing her in someone else’s arms could trigger Yugi’s dormant feelings for her. The kiss went on too quickly for her taste as Yami pushed her away harshly.

“What the hell?” Yami spat as he stepped away. “Leave me out of this!” The moment he realized what he’d just done, he looked over to Yugi to check if he was mad or something but Yugi just looked apologetic. Yami then looked at Tea.

The girl was shaking. She couldn’t take the rejection and the look of disbelief from Yugi after she just kissed Yami in front of him that she suddenly ran towards the exit of the classroom and sped through the lockers to collect her stuff and just dash out of the premises, leaving the two tricolor-haired teens behind.

Yugi was left speechless on his seat, his worksheet already forgotten as he held his head in his hands. Closing his eyes, he tried to even his breathing and calm down. He was mildly grateful that school was already out and Joey and Tristan were at remedial class. All he had to do was pass the damn worksheet and get the hell out of this place so he could finally have some sort of peace from all of it.

 

* * *

 

Yami didn’t need to walk Yugi home, but he felt like he had to. He could tell that Yugi was about to explode with so much he had to deal with in a span of three days. So he asked Bakura to keep an eye on Mokuba for a bit while he walked Yugi home. Truthfully, Yugi could just send some of their work over through email but Yami insisted on getting it himself at Yugi's place. When they reached the game shop, Yami’s plan was to maybe let Yugi forget whatever happened earlier with Tea. But the way Yugi had awkwardly stopped at the front door, made him think that maybe Yugi had other plans.

“Hey, Yami, are you okay?” Yugi asked.

Coming out of his thoughts, the crimson-eyed teen looked at his companion. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

Yugi chuckled sadly. “I’m sorry I dragged you into this. I also didn’t expect Tea to kiss you like that. Are you okay?”

“I can survive a kiss, Yugi.” He couldn’t help but chuckle, Yugi just had a very weird and overwhelming day and he was concerned about Yami. He’d heard from Tristan that Yugi cared for his friends more than himself.

The other teen nodded. “Were you planning to stay over tonight? Because I think given the events earlier, I’d really want to be alone tonight.” His voice was low and melancholy, but Yami couldn’t tell since the amethyst eyed teen had his back turned.

“I need to get to the Kaiba mansion. I’m still on babysitting duty. Bakura is keeping an eye on Mokuba for a bit while I walk you home.” Honestly, he’d give Yugi whatever he wanted if it meant they’d be okay after this craziness.

The other teen nodded. “We’ll see each other tomorrow.”

“Yugi,” Yami whispered as he turned Yugi around so he could see if the other teen was alright. He needed some reassurance.  All he saw was a confused and nervous face. “Hey,” he said softly as he cupped the other boy’s face. Yugi’s eyes were shining a different shade of dark violet because of the orange tint of the sunset. “Everything’s going to be alright, okay?”

Yugi nodded but he looked unsure. Of course he would be, he just broke his best friend’s heart.

Yami sighed and did the only thing he could do. He pressed his body against Yugi’s, trapping the amethyst-eyed teen between him and the door, then kissed him. He planted a chaste kiss to reassure the other teen that he was there for Yugi, but the moment their lips touched, something in him just clicked. Pouring a lot of emotion into the kiss, Yami wrapped his other hand around Yugi’s waist to pull him closer. He was relieved when he felt the boy in his arms calm his frozen body and kissed back with just as much emotion. Yami needed to ground himself. At the same time, he needed to remind the other boy of who he is in his life. Yami wanted to ask Yugi what their status was now since they both confessed that they liked each other. Were they dating? Was Yugi his boyfriend now? Were they a couple? So many things to ask, but Yami ignored them for now. Those little details were not important at this moment. The crimson-eyed teen heard Yugi moan into the kiss and his slender leg slowly wrapped around his, wanting to be closer.

The world stood still for the both of them. But of course, all good things must come to an end.

As they pulled apart, Yami saw how dazed Yugi looked as if the crimson-eyed teen took his breath away. When he saw Yugi smile, he was now content. They were still okay.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Yugi,” he said before giving a quick peck on Yugi’s forehead and walking away.

 

* * *

 

Given his small stature and years of running from bullies, Yugi was good in avoidance tactics. He had been dreading going to school today since he had no idea how to face his friends. It was obvious from that stupid gossip page - the one he planned on asking his sister to delete from existence - that the whole school now knew about Tea's confession to him in his classroom. People were so excited to post the whole thing on Facebook, and Yugi was certain that Joey and Tristan have already read about what happened. Now, he made a game plan about how to avoid his friends, seeing as he's spent all night planning it.

First order of business, coming to class early. Joey and Tristan were only a few blocks away from school, so they tend to sleep in. Yugi rarely saw them before the bell for first period rang. Tea was always early to class since she always drops her volleyball gear in her gym locker before class. All Yugi has to do is be earlier than them and head to his classroom. Since his classroom was at the far end of the hallway, he knew that his friends wouldn't catch him had they've been walking towards theirs. 

When he got to his seat, he planned to maybe take a nap so if ever his friends did try to check up on him, he wouldn't be able to make eye contact with them since he was asleep. But just like last night, his anxiety over the whole situation kept him wide awake. He felt like he was in a state between sleep and wakefulness. His brain tried to keep itself blank, but the brain doesn't work that way when you have a lot you need to think about.

Yugi was thankful that Kisara was on her way back soon. He expected her to arrive on Friday afternoon. She offered to pick him up after school but he opted out. What a fun way to add fuel to the fire. Kisara rolling her monster of a Jeep and people looking at him as he climbed up the damn thing to get in. That would be the best way to drag the attention.

Already knowing what to expect, Yugi fired up his Facebook app on his  phone to look at the anonymous posts about the incident yesterday on the stupid gossip page. The same page he made a mental note to ask Kisara to tear down and never to resurface ever again if she was capable of doing so. 

_ #087 _

_ Well, I just have to rant because I am furious right now. I was there when it happened and oh my GOD was that brutal! I watched Tea confess her crush on Yugi and that twerp just fucking turned her down! Like, wow, man! You ungrateful little shit! How dare you turn down Tea! As if you could find someone better than her. Listen up, shrimp, she’s the best thing you can ever get. No girl will want to date your sorry orphaned ass! News flash, Mutou, people only pity you but you can’t use your sympathy orphaned boy card to get a decent girl. You should have been grateful that Tea even likes you. Hell, I thought you were in love with her? What the fuck happened to that?  _

_ MarySue100, Sophomore Class _

Sympathy Orphaned Boy Card. He hasn’t heard that one in a long time. MarySue100 must be part of the volleyball team, or the discipline committee. 

Why were they even mad at him for rejecting Tea? He rejected her because he didn’t like her. It wasn’t fair for both of them if he said he liked her back just for the sake of not hurting her feelings. Despite his lack of relationship experience, he at least knew  _ that _ . MarySue100 made it sound like he actually  _ owed _ Tea for even liking him, that the least he could do was to like her back. Sure he used to liker her that way but he didn’t anymore. 

_ #121 _

_ Wow! What a plot twist! Who knew Tea was actually the one who liked Yugi and not the other way around? Hey, Mutou, if you’re reading this, my advice to you is to just take Tea. She’s the best one you’ll ever get, in my opinion. We both know you’re not getting any other girls after high school. You’re what? 18? Growth spurts stops at 16, man. Beggars can’t  be choosers. Who else is going to take your sorry ass? Even you parents couldn’t. _

_ Anon115, Senior Class _

Rolling his eyes, Yugi put his phone back in his pocket.

Someone from his year actually wrote that? Yugi didn’t even know how to feel. Did he honestly look so...pitiful? He tried to stand back and think about it. Since the whole blow up with his parents happened, he did his best to keep a low profile. Whatever spotlight that had been pointed his way was all thanks to the many bullies he’s encountered through the years. His grades didn’t seem pitiful. Of course there were rumors that teachers only gave him better grades as a way of making him feel better. Maybe back in freshman year they did, but he did try to be good in his studies, making sure to constantly get straight A’s and passing all of his assignments on time. He was living a perfectly normal low-key student life. 

Already frustrated with himself, he sent a text to his sister to have her take down the damn page and the submission page to quiet his mind. It was after a couple of minutes that he received a reply.

**_I’ll text you when I’m done -K_ **

Sighing, the younger Mutou sibling was able to relax even for a little bit as he laid back on his seat and closed his eyes. Yugi was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn’t hear Ryou come in until he was nudged by his friend.

“Yugi? Can you hear me, Yugi?”

Blinking, Yugi turned to the white-haired teen. “Oh, sorry, Ryou. I guess I was spacing out since I woke up too early today.”

Hearing a grunt from behind his friend, Yugi spotted Bakura with a bored expression on his face. Yugi gave a small friendly smile and waved at his friend's assumed-to-be boyfriend. "Hey, Bakura. Good morning!" He was met with a raised eyebrow then a scoff with a smirk. Beside Yugi, Ryou just giggled.

"That's Kura's way of saying 'Good morning' back," he explained. "So...can't sleep?" he asked a bit concerned.

Eyebrow raised, "Would you?" he asked. He didn't need any further explanation over his question. Ryou was there when the incident happened. When his friend just blushed, Yugi shook his head and chuckled. "Just a lot of things in my head, Ryou. An active brain will always keep you awake."

Ryou hummed. "That's true." He then turned to Bakura, "Why don't you go back to your class? I already humored you and let you walk me to my classroom. I'm here, safe, and in one piece. You can go now," he joked.

Bakura huffed but relented. "Fine. I'll go on ahead. I'll see you at lunch, Ryou. See ya, Mutou," he waved dismissively at the two teens before leaving.

"Bye!" Ryou and Yugi waved in unisom with a bright smile that made Bakura roll his eyes.

Once Bakura was finally gone, Yugi looked towards his friend. "I know you guys are officially dating now. Does that make him your boyfriend or something?" When Ryou gave him a look, Yugi shrugged. "Humor me please. I need something else to think about as a form of distraction." One look at Ryou and Yugi grimaced, "Please don't look at me like that. You know how much I hate that look."

Ryou blinked. "What look?" he asked, feigning obliviousness. "Also, to answer your question, yeah he is my boyfriend, despite not announcing it to the rest of the world." The white-haired teen then looked behind him to check if anyone was listening before going back to Yugi. "Sorry, Yugi. I can't help it. Bakura messaged me last night about the myriad of posts online. People are talking about it like it's a big deal."

"In their defense, it is a big deal. To me and Tea at least." Yugi then shook his head, "What I don't like is other people making it a big deal for them." Saying that this whole thing is not a big deal would be stupid. It was a big deal considering the way Tea took the rejection. It wasn't the whole "You're my best friend but I like you more than just that and I'm just saying this to put this out there so I am not expecting you to love me back" type of thing. Tea was _expecting_ something to happen between them. She said it so herself. She was willing to pursue him since she knew he wasn't really into being in a relationship yet. If it was just Tea confessing that she liked him more than a friend and was expecting nothing on his end, then it wouldn't be such a big deal. He wasn't one to make a big deal of the both of them being friends and things changing between just because Tea confessed her feelings. He didn't really have the time for that drama. Also, Kisara might plaster "Beware of Unnecessary Teenage Emotional Wreck. Proceed With Caution" sign on his bedroom door if he did that. He hasn't even talked things out with Yami yet to establish what will happen between them now. 

Gods above he sounded like a typical teenage drama movie plot. He seriously needed a distraction.

"You know," Ryou said, pulling Yugi out of his internal monologue. "I don't think you need my current relationship status to keep you distracted. You're doing that on your own," he joked. "You know, talking to her, with no outside influences involved, could help. Just you and her talking things out. No Joey, no Tristan, and definitely no audience to document the whole thing on social media afterwards."

"Not really in the mood to talk about that right now," Yugi whined.

Ryou hummed in thought. Yugi's walls were strong as hell and he knew better than to pry. He was overstepping it as it is. "Did you know that Bakura's mom is actually his dad's Japanese teacher?"

Yugi thanked the gods for Ryou's understanding. "Really?"

Ryou nodded. "His dad worked at Domino University as a research assistant before he worked at Kaiba corp as a technical architect. Since he only knew English and Arabic, he took night classes at the university to learn Japanese. That's how he met Bakura's mom." 

"Have you met them?" Yugi asked. "As Bakura's boyfriend, I mean."

"Well, funny story..." Ryou trailed off. He looked behind him again and was relieved that there weren't any people yet, perks of being early. "Irina, Bakura's younger sister, found out about us and just exploded on Bakura because apparently he ‘stole me from her’." Ryou giggled. "Irina kept scolding Bakura and told their parents that he stole her future husband from her."

"Bakura's sister has a crush on you?" Yugi asked with a chuckle.

Ryou just shrugged. "Their parents had the same reaction you had when they heard it."

Yugi then proceeded to just listen to Ryou talk about the very amusing dinner he had with Bakura Sennen's family. Ryou must have some sort of pull towards them considering every member of that family absolutely adores him. Not only was Bakura protective of Ryou, even Bakura's own parents preferred Ryou to stay over at their place when they found out that he usually stayed alone at his apartment since his father was always away on an expedition. Ryou talked about how little Irina Sennen had been pouting the whole dinner as she watched him and her brother interact with each other as a couple.

Once the students started filling the classroom, Yugi was back to his blank and uninterested expression. He caught eye of Yami who smiled at him as took his seat. Relief washed over Yugi since he was grateful that at least Yami knew not to look at him with that look of pity. It was the last thing he wanted, and he already had his fair share since the start of his high school life. 

Lunch rolled around and Yugi didn't hesitate on Ryou's offer to join them at the rooftop. Thanks to Bakura's presence, no one really bothered Yugi, add Marik who had an evil glint in his eyes whenever students would look at their general direction and said students would instantly walk away. Yugi could breathe easier with them and he was grateful for the distraction. 

Of course, he had to deal with Yami's presence as well which was a bit unsettling for him. 

The whole "are we dating now?" thing was a topic he was avoiding as well. He could almost feel that tension between him and Yami since they haven't talked about it yet. Yugi had to suppress a groan as his dilemmas were starting to pile up. Kisara's whole "if you don't want to think about it yet then don't" advice was starting to sound like a stupid one. At least Yami wasn't the type that would push the topic forward at any given time. He had a perfect opportunity yesterday when he walked Yugi home but he didn't. Yugi was sure he would've punched Yami or something if Yami had insisted they talked about it.

A buzz in his pants pocket took him out of his thoughts. It was a text from Kisara.

**_The deed is done. -K_ **

Yugi couldn’t help but smirk and roll his eyes at Kisara’s dramatics. He checked Facebook, and as promised, the stupid page has been taken down. He sent a quick reply to his sister to thank her for her expertise.

**_Three months of doing all of the dishes is a small price to pay. Thank you for your services._ **

Now that that thorn on his side is finally out, he now had a valid reason not to go online and punish himself by reading what people thought of him with regards to what happened between him and Tea. It became his addiction throughout the day really. His anxiety over the issue and his incessant need to know what he did wrong was intense enough that he constantly opened the page just to read through them. He needed a break from it for his sanity’s sake. Thankfully, he was spoiled by his sister so she just took the page down no questions asked. And throughout the day, he actually felt lighter.

Before he knew it, the school day had ended without incident. 

But that didn’t last til the end of the school day.

It was as he was walking out the school building that he noticed Tea. It was raining outside and she didn't seem to have an umbrella on her. Fishing out his extra raincoat from his locker, he walked up to Tea and handed his umbrella to her.

"My place is nearer from school than yours," he said. He wanted to avoid eye contact but Tea deserved more than that so he looked up at his best friend and gave a soft smile. "I have an extra raincoat that's big enough to protect me and my bag on my way home. You should take my umbrella." It broke him to see Tea's wide blue eyes be wary as she looked at him. It's as if it was a unusual for him to help her. He wanted to stay true to what he believed in, that despite this rift between them, he still considered Tea as his best friend.

"Thank you, Yugi," Tea whispered. Her voice broke as she said his name and her chest instantly tightened when their fingers lightly brushed as she took the umbrella. It was difficult for her to comprehend why Yugi was so sweet to her but only feel friendship towards her. She couldn't sleep well last night and all she could do was stare blankly at her collage of pictures of her and her friends in her room. In her mind, she recounted every single thing Yugi has done for her and tried to look for signs that they were all done out of pure friendship and not love or attraction. She caught herself staring blankly into space and looked away from Yugi before her chest tightens again. It was hard for her to look at Yugi and experience his kindness and not break inside. "I have to go," she said, a little surprised that she sounded somewhat normal. Taking a big breath of air, she turned back at her best friend and put on her signature smile before leaving. "See you tomorrow," she said cheerily before opening the umbrella and walked quickly out of the school premises. Inside, she prayed that she could just go back to feeling friendship towards him and nothing more.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooooo sorry for the ridiculously late upload of this. I had a hard time writing this just to make it right. I kinda teared up as I wrote the TeaxYugi parts because I feel like it's so unfair. But then again, things had to be decided and they are now at their current positions because of said decisions. I hope you guys like it! Tell me what you think as always. Your feedback is much appreciated.


	10. Shift Change

The incessant ringing of the smartphone was crawling under Yami's skin. He kept his eyes closed as he lifted his upper body, using his elbows for support. He didn't need to know who was calling him, he had a special ringtone just for him.

"Please tell me you're running from an axe murderer because that's the only acceptable reason I'm not biting your head off for calling me at three in the morning," he growled.

"Pish posh, Yami. This is important. Check the school website. You and your boyfriend just became a hot topic for tomorrow," Bakura answered.

"What the fuck are you talking about? And did you just say pish posh? You’ve been hanging around Ryou so much you’re already sounding like him." He sunk his head back on the pillows, sleep trying to claim him again, but his eyes bugged out when he heard Bakura again.

"The school website has a picture of you and Mutou making out on the front door of his house."

"I'm calling you back," he answered calmly. He needed to keep his heartbeat at a calm pace in order to go back to bed easily later.

"Don't bother. I'm going to bed now. I just gave you the heads up so you wouldn't be too shocked when you enter the school perimeter. Oh and I’m taking your babysitting shift today so you and the shrimp can talk."

"Thanks, just know that I'm coming for you with an axe if this is bullshit," he mumbled then hung up.

He opened the school website on his phone and he glared at the home page:

**Sennen and Mutou Share A Passionate Kiss!**

He had to scoff. How poetic of them. There were no other words to pair the photograph. It was just a clear picture of two tricolor haired teens in each other's arms, Yami's hand cupping Yugi's face, eyes closed, Yugi's back leaning for support on the door of the Kame Game Shop that led to the house, their lips locked on each other. The picture looked like it was taken from a strategic location. Like someone knew they would be there and was just waiting for the right angle and moment to take a snap. 

Someone was following them.

He groaned then called the one person he needed to talk to, and said person wasn't the most pleasant when woken at this ungodly hour too.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME, DEMON?!" was the first thing Yami heard when Yugi picked up after four tries. Tries, not rings. The smaller teen screeched through the phone which caused a ringing sound in Yami's ear. If Yami wasn't awake before, he surely was now.

"Someone posted a picture of us making out at your place on the school website," he answered calmly just like when he was talking to Bakura.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me," Yugi's voice was low and deadly now. "Someone  _ followed _ us? Don’t people have a sense of privacy? Or self-respect?"

Yami nodded then rolled his eyes at himself. He didn't want to speak, too afraid that he might snap at the witch that was on the other line.

"Did you just nod while you're  _ on the phone _ ?" the smaller one berated.

There was a grunt but Yami still didn't speak.

"Wanna play hooky today?" Yugi suggested.

The taller teen furrowed his brows, "You're awfully chippy for someone who found out they have a sex scandal plastered on the school’s website."

"I really don't want to go to school today, with the whole Tea thing. Then add this little tidbit, which, according to you, is us making out so it doesn't count as a sex scandal-" 

"We were making out, we may not be fucking in that picture, but it'll give the people a pretty suggestive idea on what we could have done next," Yami cut him off.

"Which was nothing, if you recall. I’ve been looking for the right reason to skip school. Plus, you woke me up at three in the fucking morning...I need more hours of sleep to actually  _ be _ a human being. And besides, Kisara's coming back from America today in the afternoon, I could have her bring the site down for us."

"She can do that?"

"Who do you think brought that stupid Facebook page down?"

“That was you?” Yami asked surprised. As he left the school earlier that day, he could hear some of the students whining and complaining that they couldn’t find the page anymore. 

“Technically it was Kisara who did it, but yeah. I just…” Yugi hesitated and eventually fell silent.

Yami huffed. "You know if we skip school, they win right?"

"I don't caaare," Yugi whined. "I seriously don't want to see anyone after what just transpired recently. I have to face them sooner and I have no idea how after this.”

“You’re being immature about this.”

There was laughter on the other line. "I’m a teenager, I get a free pass to be immature. But fine. Alright, what's the game plan? Because hell will be a fucking amusement park compared to school when we get there. Just because we're graduating seniors doesn't mean we're immune to bullies, especially of the homophobe variety."

"Do nothing and when we get home we release all our tensions. No holds barred."

“Sounds tempting, but wait… Aren’t you on babysitting duty?”

“Bakura took my shift. So I’m free tonight.”

"Perfect. See you then. Get some sleep. Wouldn't want you tired."

"Wait!" Yami bit his lip and closed his eyes. This was it. The opening he was looking for.

"What? Reconsidering my hooky suggestion?"

Moment of truth. Yami's lips were trembling at trying to get the words out. His voice suddenly failing him. But he cleared his throat for three seconds before finally stuttering the words. "I-I w-wanna do-uh I-I mean, DATE! Date. Date. Shit... I w-wanna d-date you."

Smooth.

Yami berated himself for how stupid he sounded. The chuckle on the other line made his cheeks darken in shame. He could've said "Wanna go out for dinner?" or "Wanna hangout this weekend?" or simply "Can I take you out for lunch this Saturday?".

Nope.

He just had to stutter like some clueless virgin asking his crush out for the first time. 

The taller teen waited for the one on the other line to speak. He was too busy freaking out at the awkwardness of the situation that he didn't understand the jumble of words he heard.

"I heard a static. What was that?"

"I said, the park at the west has a forrest trail we can go to if you're up for it this weekend."

He accepted. The smile on Yami's face was not seen by the other boy, and that was fine. He didn't want to look stupid in front of Yugi. His stupid questions and clumsiness during their first few times in the bedroom already made up for that. 

"I don't do well with rejection, Yami.  And you're the one who  _ asked _ me."

"Sorry," he chuckled, "Wanna have lunch there?"

"Seeing as we'll be subjected to endless teasing whenever we're seen together in public, we can have lunch at my place then just head out."

"It's a date then."

"Can I go back to sleep now?"

"Goodnight, Yugi. I  _ cannot wait _ to go to school later," he chuckled, sarcasm laced in his voice.

"You and me both, Yami."

 

* * *

 

To say that going to school was pure torture was an understatement. Yami came prepared though with earphones plugged in, rock music playing and his eyes glued forward. He had to do his best to ignore all the eyes looking at him, all the smirks all the finger pointing. At least the rock music shielded him from the whispers and the taunting. He was thankful for his cousins' presence when he entered the school gate. People still feared them for their spontaneity and morbid tendencies. But there were brave souls who shoved the tricolor haired teen to the ground and sneer at him. Bakura and Marik would try to avenge him but he would only grip their shoulders as a sign to leave them be. It was part of their game plan for today.

_ Do nothing and when we get home we release all our tensions. No holds barred. _

As he walked down the halls to his classroom, he tried to think of what Yugi would be enduring today. He entered the classroom and the first thing he did was glance at Yugi's seat if the other teen was there. There, seated on the other side of the classroom, the amethyst-eyed teen was looked to be fast asleep on his desk. His head resting on his folded arms on the desk with his eyes closed. He was taking a nap. Looks like he didn't get much sleep after the rude wake up call. He took his usual seat in the classroom, earphones still plugged in and took his textbook and binder to distract him from...anyone and anything really.

Glancing on his watch, it was almost time for first period so he removed his earphones. While he was putting his phone and his earphones in his bag, he chanced a glance at Yugi who was now awake and staring at the window.

Good. Act like nothing's new.

_ Do nothing and when we get home we release all our tensions. No holds barred. _

Classes weren't all that bad. Then again, maybe it was because Ushio was still out of commission today so the big bulk of the in-your-face teasing was missed. Lunch was a whole new ball game, unfortunately. 

As he entered the cafeteria, he got a quick message from Yugi.

**_‘Don’t try to be a hero for me please? But if anyone messes you up, just give me the signal and I’ll be there.’_ **

He kind of understood what that meant. There was going to be a confrontation and he knew it. Yami still sat on the same corner table with his cousins and Mana, while Yugi was nowhere to be found. He eyed the table where the smaller teen usually occupied, but there were only three occupants. The female occupant noticed Yami staring so she stood up and came marching towards his direction.

"Oh, here we go," Marik snickered.

"Fifty says she'll slap Yami," Bakura said.

"Fifty says she'll just yell at him," Marik countered.

"Deal."

Mana gave a sympathetic look towards Yami in which the teen just shook his head in acknowledgement. 

"I'm getting the winnings if she does nothing to Yami," Mana challenged.

"Fine," the gruesome twosome said in unison.

Yami blinked when Tea passed their table. A resounding slap echoed through the lunch hall and everyone fell silent. The teen slowly turned around to see a glaring Yugi with a red handprint on his left cheek.

"It was Yami?! You replaced me for some  _ guy _ you’re not even friends with?" Tea snarled.

The smaller teen didn't reply. He still had that bored glare directed at his attacker. A poker face.

Yami had to wince at Tea's words. Replace is such a weird word to use. Sure Yugi’s feelings has changed, but why was it big deal to her that Yugi “replaced” her with him? He then realized that even though the two of them were in the picture, Yugi was taking the bulk of the attacks courtesy of Tea which didn't sit well with him. He was half expecting the brunette girl would be attacking him instead of her friend, considering he “stole” Yugi from her according to people’s loud whispers.

Yami locked eyes with Yugi for a second. He was reaching his boiling point with this girl. For him, Yugi was, and still is, his friend and he wasn't going to let this girl talk him down. He was ready to go up there and defend him, but the glare from those amethyst eyes told him to stand down. So he did.

Tea saw the exchange but misinterpreted them.

"What? Expecting support from him? He's not your friend, Yugi. I am! I know how to be supportive. I was your friend when no one wanted to be, not him. I was the one you ran to when your parents were fighting, not him. I was the one you liked. NOT. HIM!" She was yelling now out of frustration. Whoever posted that damned picture on the school's website had a sick sense of humor by posting the photo on every page. Now everyone was talking about it. It was a nightmare for her. A stupid twisted nightmare that started because she got bested by someone she underestimated. Why didn’t she listen to Duke? He already told her that there was something going on between Yami and Yugi and she just ignored it. Deep inside she wanted to 

Meanwhile, Yami's enraged. Why wasn't any of Yugi's so-called friends doing anything to at least stop Tea from the tongue lashing she was subjecting Yugi to? He looked at their table and saw Joey eyeing him with a deadly glare while Tristan had a blank stare at the event unfolding in front of him. Yami wanted to help out, but Yugi’s eyes pinned him to his seat, telling him to butt out. Maybe that’s why they’re stepping out of it too.

Yami answered Joey's glare with his own. He was surprised that the blonde hasn't charged at him, but looking at the people surrounding him, he was sure Bakura wouldn't back down from a fight. And the blonde was scared of the white-haired teen. 

“I bet it was you who posted that photo,” she said accusingly. “You wanted to hit me while I’m down by posting that photo. You wanted to rub it in my face that you got the guy I originally liked!” Her sadness turned to anger and frustration the moment she saw that photo last night. A lot of her friends from the student council messaged her about it asking if she knew what happened. Seeing the photo was like a switch in her and the floodgates burst open. “I thought you were my friend, Yugi! How could you do this to me? You call yourself my best friend, but you  _ betrayed _ me. How could you?” she screeched as she prepared to deliver another stinging blow to Yugi’s cheek.

As the hand swung towards his face, Yugi didn't flinch, didn't close his eyes, fear wasn't even in his eyes. When the hand met with his face, it wasn't the slap that echoed the halls, it was Tea's name that was uttered by the teacher that did.

"Ms. Gardner! Principal's office, now!" it was a sound of a snarling bear than a scolding teacher. The brunette girl paled.

When Tea was gone, Ryou rushed to Yugi's side.

"Yugi, you need to go to the nurse's office to get that checked out," he whispered.

"But I'm hungry," Yugi whined.

The white-haired teen chuckled and showed two brown paper bags. "Already got that covered. I bought you the last egg sandwich and some cheese fries."

"What did you do that god decided that you weren't meant for heaven?" Yugi joked as he grabbed the brown paperbag.

Ryou shrugged then locked eyes with Bakura his voice loud enough so the other teen could hear him perfectly, "Liking the same gender?"

As the two of them continued walking, Yugi finally touched his burning cheek. "Man, she could've rearranged my face with that slap," he hissed then chuckled in amusement.

"Does your jaw hurt?" Ryou asked.

"Nope. Thank god too. Making out would be fucking difficult if it did," he looked at Yami with a smirk then discreetly winked at him.

Yami and the rest of the people at his table heard this and started giggling lightly. Yugi looked at them with a smile and shook his head. He locked eyes with the taller teen again. He didn't say anything, but Yami already knew that he wasn't needed so he stayed on his seat as the smaller teen walked away.

"You're not going to follow him?" Mana asked.

"Nope. He doesn't need me, he’ll tell me if he does. He's already got Ryou. He's already covered," Yami replied.

"Besides, I don't think he needs to indulge the whole school with another round of drama," Marik snickered.

"Ra forbid this school needs more drama," Yami muttered while nodding.

"Wait, no one won the bet." Mana said laughing. She reached out her hand and Yami’s cousins paid her with disdain on their face. When the laughing stopped, Mana looked at her friend and smiled sadly. “You know, I should tell you…” she trailed off.

“What? That you’re in love with Yami?” Marik asked.

Mana smacked him at the back of his head. “No!” The girl turned to her crimson-eyed friend and smiled, “I used to have a major crush on Yugi when we first met back in freshman year.”

Yami stared at Mana with a shocked expression while his cousins snickered.

The brunette huffed and scolded the snickering duo. “I’m  _ serious _ . He’s such a sweet and cute guy, I couldn’t help myself. And when I found out that he had a thing for Tea, it gave me hope because that meant that he’s into brunettes.”

The two snickering teens burst out laughing now. More at their cousin’s expense and not at Mana’s. Okay, maybe a bit at Mana’s expense. They’ve yet to figure out why the girl hasn’t shown any attraction to any guy in school. And now they knew why.

“Finally! An answer!” Marik rejoiced. They were lucky that the tables around them were unoccupied, mostly because Bakura and Marik had sinister smiles on their faces as people tried to approach them.

After eating his lunch quickly, Yami couldn’t help but get up and go to the clinic. Thankfully, he was able to get out of the cafeteria undetected. Walking towards the clinic, he was relieved to see Yugi just going out with Ryou. Yami jogged towards his direction only to be stopped by a teacher.

“Sennen, Mutou, the guidance counselor is looking for you.” His face wasn’t stern. It was more apologetic, like he pitied the two.

Sensing that all too familiar pity, Yugi let out a pinning glare at the teacher and nodded. When the teacher slightly flinched as he turned to take the lead, Yugi couldn’t help but smirk victoriously. He looked to the side to see Yami studying him. Or more accurately, his cheek where Tea had slapped him like a volleyball. For some odd reason, Yami was the only person who knew how to react and look at Yugi in a way that the amethyst-eyed teen didn’t want to punch him. Even Ryou needed to be reminded that he shouldn’t look at him like he was a puppy that was kicked.

“How’s the cheek? She didn’t leave a mark now did she?” Yami asked as he let his finger trail down Yugi’s face lightly. Heaven knows he might bury Tea alive should she leave a mark on Yugi. Only  _ he  _ was allowed to do that now.

Yugi shook his head. “I’m fine. It did wake me up, that’s for sure.” He chuckled, “I mean, I  _ did _ wake up at three in the morning by  _ someone _ .” Yugi glared playfully at Yami who only snickered.

The guidance counselor was a sweet woman. Pretty too if Yami swung that way. She had a gentle smile and a very calming aura surrounding her. When Yani and Yugi entered her office, they were instantly greeted by the scent of lemon coming from her duck-shaped electric humidifier. She was relaxing on her place behind the desk with her usual gentle smile. The first time Yami met Ms. Maya was his first day in school. Being a transfer student from a different country was absolutely awkward especially since he wasn't that good with Japanese yet.

She had that apologetic look that Yami knew Yugi would hate. He already dreaded this little meeting.

"Hello, boys," she greeted. "Please take a seat." She motioned for the long couch at the side of her office while she took the seat in front of her desk so she was facing the two teens. "Yugi, I received a call, and surprisingly, it was from your sister. Is that right?"

"Yeah. I have a sister." Yugi replied.

"I never knew you had a sister," Ms. Maya said in amazement.

"Well my parents may not be subtle but they're still capable of keeping secrets, I suppose," Yugi grumbled.

The statement caused the counselor to wince but tried her best to brush it off. "Well, that's a relief. Since she's not registered as your legal guardian, I'm going to have to ask your grandfather to confirm that. Please do ask him to stop by for it so we can update our records."

"Sure, Ms. Maya. Although, I'm not sure when that can be done since he's in Egypt right now."

"Do you know when he'll be back?"

Yugi wanted to snap at her saying that she already knew how long his digs usually were but he kept his cool. Now was not the time to be a smart mouth. "His digs are usually a month or two long, but he did say that he might come home early since the site isn't as big as the usual dig site."

"Well, if ever he comes back, please ask him to put your sister up as your legal guardian while he's unavailable. But anyways, your sister is aware of the...um...well, the incident with the school website. She wasn't exactly happy.” Total understatement. She was a nightmare to deal with. “Were you able to talk to her about it?"

Yugi shook his head. "Not in complete detail. I just told her about it in passing when I was about to leave for school. She's still working right now, I think, but I hope to talk to her about it during the weekend. Did Kisara say anything?"

"She had a lot to say about it," she cleared her throat as she remembered the tongue lashing she received from the woman on the other line earlier today. "But she was mostly displeased with the school and has demanded to have the school website taken down if we couldn't remove the picture from all of the pages. It's obvious that you weren't the one who posted the photo on the school website."

"Of course I'm not the one who posted that photo!" Yugi exclaimed, a little insulted that she would even think that. 

"Calm down, Yugi. The school is currently doing an in depth investigation regarding the incident and-" she was cut off when her phone started ringing. She picked it up and had to wince when he heard the voice on the other line. "Yes. Hello, Mr. Kaiba."

Yami looked up in amazement. He knew Seto was already back in Japan, he took a short detour at Tokyo to deal with more work stuff, but why would he be calling the school today? Unless one of his cousins had a big mouth...

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba, the crisis has been averted and the website is down until further notice," she replied nervously. She already had to deal with a difficult sister earlier, now she had to deal with  _ the _ Seto Kaiba regarding the same incident. On the one hand, she was glad that the two teens had family members that were genuinely concerned and very passionate with protecting them. But at the same time, did they really had to have such scary family members as their legal guardians? She always preferred to deal with Solomon Mutou since the old man was all smiles and rarely scolded her. She also faintly remembered Yami's father who was quite polite and easy to talk to. "We're not certain how long the picture was on the site but we turned off the server at around seven in the morning. Yes, Mr. Kaiba, we'll deal with it. Of course not, Mr. Kaiba. We will, Mr. Kaiba. Yes, thank you. Goodbye." Before she could even finish her final greeting, the person on the other line already hung up on her. 

As the guidance counsellor tried her best to collect her bearings from the very stressful call she just experienced, Yugi and Yami just stared at one another trying to communicate through their minds. It was somehow working. They both conveyed their concern and annoyance over the situation. They also shared how much they felt sorry for Ms. Maya to have to deal with two very strong people such as Kisara and Seto.

Sighing, Ms. Maya turned back to the two teens and couldn't help but smile. Despite the drama going on, they still seem okay with being together. She cleared her throat to make her presence known. She had a job to do right now. "Look, you guys," she started. "I want to know how you both feel about this whole thing. I've actually excused the both of you from your classes so we can talk. I know this might be quite an overwhelming and you need to take yourself out of it for a while."

The two teens just blinked at her. Was she serious? Being excused from their classes was great and all, but to talk to her about the whole “incident”? Nope. They would rather just deal with the rest of the school day. Both teens just looked at the counselor like she just turned into a green alien.

Sensing their discomfort, Ms. Maya smiled. Granted, she wouldn’t tell some stranger about something like this. But she was trained for this. All she needed to do was maybe try to ask different questions. “Do you guys think you know who posted the photo online?” she asked carefully.

Both of them shook their heads.

“Really? Not even a hint?” She asked and all she got were raised eyebrows from the two teens. Sighing yet again today, she tried a different approach. In reality, she was having a difficult time wrapping her head around the situation. Sure, high school was tough and usually secrets don’t stay secret when it comes to who is dating who, but to humiliate their fellow classmate by posting such an intimate moment online without their consent? She wasn’t sure where the line was when it came to playful teasing but she was sure it was crossed. She wasn’t ignorant to the rumors going around yesterday regarding Yugi and Tea, then add this and the little confrontation that happened in the cafeteria. When it came to Yugi’s case, her file on him was so thick, she could actually pass it as a thesis dissertation. Yugi himself wasn’t a big problem in school, except during the rare occasions that bullies were successful in getting a violent reaction from him.

“We really don’t know who posted the photo, let alone who followed us home to take it,” Yugi replied with a heavy and defeated sigh. He had already dealt with the stupid Facebook page, now people are finding a new way to post scandalous shit to share to the school. What is it with these people and their fascination with other people’s personal lives?

Asking them of their opinion on who posted the photo was more for investigative purposes. Ms. Maya was tasked by the Discipline Coordinator to find out from the two teens for some prime suspects. Given the little show Ms. Tea Gardner did in the cafeteria, she was the first the principal talked to. Her meltdown made her a suspect. Mr. Riviera was also interviewed to know how students got around into hacking the website, which Ms. Maya had to roll her eyes to. Anyone with the access to the internet could easily learn how to hack into a fairly simple website.

She studied Yugi and Yami intently as she explained how the investigation was going to happen. Yami seemed at ease being with Yugi, like the sky was just removed from his burden as he stared at the other teen. Now while Yami seemed to be floating like a feather, Yugi looked...almost empty. Something the counselor has noticed, Yugi was great with hiding emotions. Whenever he was called into her office, he always looks distracted and blank when she talked to him. A true poker face. He was bored and looked to be unaffected. He was deflecting. Again. He smiled, however, when he looked at Yami which told the counselor that at the very least the whole relationship wasn’t a tragic one-sided one. She was genuinely happy that at least she could get a quick glimpse of a different reaction from Yugi other than his stoic ones. But when it came to the whole incident with his photo with Yami, that stoic expression comes back.

After explaining what will happen with the investigation, Ms. Maya explained what will happen with the two of them. Seeing as the principal, Mrs. Rivers, wanted to avoid any and all lawsuits from the boys’ guardians, she wanted to talk to all of them before shit hit the fan. 

Staring at her desk clock, it was almost a half hour before dismissal so she let the two teens stay in the extra room where she usually held small conferences with parents and children. She needed to draft a letter to, possibly, the two individuals that would be the most impossible to deal with. Once the final bell rang, she sent the two teens off. 

Tomorrow was a weekend, more than enough time for them to recover from such an overwhelming week.

She wasn’t sure how the two teens were going to deal with the stressful week, but she hoped that come Monday, they would be better.

 

* * *

 

 

"Ooh...Yami...baby," Yugi moaned as he felt his release beginning to erupt.

Yami pounded harder into the smaller teen at the sound of the new pet name. His hands, that were entwined with the other teen, were now holding onto the headboard for more leverage. His thrusts were harder and faster while Yugi moaned and cried out as his prostate was hit every time, his own palms were at the headboard helping him meet Yami’s thrusts.

He used to be annoyed with Yugi's pet names for him whenever they had sex. But now, it just fueled his libido more. He looked down on the pale body beneath him and saw that the half-lidded amethyst orbs were staring at him. There was a smile for him within those eyes. Yugi's mouth was too busy moaning his name but his eyes showed that smile, the smile that was only for him. Like his own secret he kept with Yugi. He suddenly decided to be possessive as he lowered his head to claim what the other boy has given only to him.

Yugi felt Yami's hand entwine with his and pinned down on both sides of his head. Not breaking their rhythm, Yami crushed his lips against his. This kiss was different from all the others they both shared tonight. It was urgent just like their first but this kiss held emotion he was not familiar with. But he welcomed it nonetheless. He was a bit overwhelmed at how possessive the kiss was and he tried to fight with Yami's tongue for dominance. The taller teen's mouth travelled down to his jaw then down to his neck, whispering "Mine" repeatedly.

"All yours, baby," Yugi groaned. He heard a growl and the red-eyed teen went to his previous position with his hands on the headboard. 

It was the truth. During that cold lonely night of their junior year, they gave themselves to each other. There wasn't any emotion that night, just desire. It happened under this roof, where they staked their claim on each other. Senior year came and they decided that they wanted each other again after that night, and they never gave themselves to anyone during that time. They belonged to each other. And it was on this night that they voiced it. Yami had always been the jealous type. When he found out that Yugi used to have a crush on Tea, it awakened the green-eyed monster in him. This monster influenced him on making sure Yugi knew who makes him scream in pleasure and Yami enjoyed hearing the smaller teen's passion when saying his name. Tea can never have that. 

And he was going to make damn sure she never will.

The amethyst-eyed teen used his elbows as support as he met the other boy's hard thrusts. He reached up to attach his mouth to Yami's collar and ran his tongue on the bronze skin, the touch making Yami's nerves tingle. The knot in his stomach ready to unravel. Yugi's head was hitting the headboard but he didn't care. He was too busy trying to reach his climax and making sure Yami was there with him. Yami’s skin was on fire as he felt Yugi's daring tongue explore the expanse of his neck, his teeth teasing him further.

Yami looked down at the pale teen again and saw a smirk on his face. Yugi wrapped his arms around the taller teen's neck and brought him down. "Mine," Yugi groaned and attached his lips to Yami's.

Yami groaned at the urgency of the kiss. His movement inside Yugi became more desperate, more frantic. He broke the kiss as he felt his release coming. "All yours, baby," he uttered Yugi's words in the smaller one's ear in a low growl then nibbled on the ear lobe.

Yugi couldn't take it anymore and screamed Yami's name to the heavens as his seed spilled on their stomachs.

After a couple more thrusts, Yami growled against Yugi's shoulder and let his seed spill inside him.

They've been at it for hours now. No holds barred, like they promised. They were both frustrated with how the day went and they needed release. 

When both teens have recovered from the aftershocks of their release, the taller boy slowly tried to pull out when he was stopped by pale legs wrapping around his waist. He heard the smaller one whimper at the movement as his member moved back inside the tight cavern. Yami bit his lip at the sensation, his arousal coming back for another around. "You're probably sore, Yugi. You've been insisting on bottoming every round tonight." He was still out of breath from their last activities. But like every time they were together, he couldn't get enough of the pale amethyst-eyed boy under him.

"I like it when you spoil me that way. Besides, I want you inside me a little longer." Yugi cuddled into the taller boy's chest and closed his eyes.

Yami smiled then carefully flipped them over, so Yugi could rest on top of him. He twirled his finger around one of the smaller teen's golden bangs and hummed in content. "What made you agree to go on a date with me?"

"You're kidding right?" Yugi looked at him with an amused smirk.

The red-eyed teen blinked. "Uh..."

"You're cute when you're flustered, baby," Yugi chuckled, tracing his finger from Yami's temple to his jaw then landing a kiss on the tip of his nose.

"Baby? I kinda like it. Just don't call me that in public."

"And if I say no?"

SMACK!

Yugi, to Yami's surprise, moaned in delight when the taller teen's hand connected with his pale behind. Yami pouted in confusion, "You like that?"

Yugi narrowed his eyes, "Don't act like you're not into it too. You  _ are _ the one who spanked me."

The taller teen chuckled. But there was another question that was itching his mind.

"What happened to your 'No Strings Attached' rule?" he asked carefully.

Yugi shrugged. "Kisara told me something that made me reconsider things."

Yami raised an eyebrow at him but didn't say anything. Instead, he wrapped his arms around the pale boy on top of him and listened intently, at the same time peppering light kisses on the smaller teen’s neck and collar.

Yugi glanced at the wall behind him where soft music was playing. Kisara had decided to sleep tonight and played her speakers to drown out any noise coming from Yugi’s room. Right now, he couldn’t help but roll his eyes at his sister’s choice of music and timing. The song currently playing was “Why Can’t It Be” which was a song about why can’t two people be together. She may be asleep but she still knew how to tease him. When she retreated in her room songs like “Your Body Is A Wonderland” and “Secret” played as they started a heated make out session in his room. "She said that people fear change because they fear being vulnerable. She was telling me that since I like you, I shouldn't be scared of my feelings for you, no matter how unfamiliar I am with them."

"Yugi, I-"

"I'm not expecting you to stay committed to me, Yami. It's a date. I'm not asking you to marry me," he smirked. "Thinking about it, I do like you. So why don't we just date? Labels, rules, and strings be damned."

Yami cupped Yugi's face and smiled. This smile made Yugi's heart flutter. It wasn't a smile he's seen Yami give, not even to his own cousins. It was a smile just for him. "Thank you."

"Hmm?"

"For giving me a chance." He tipped Yugi's head and kissed him softly. 

"If I were to date anyone, you're my first and only choice. And even if I did have other options, which I don't, I'd still choose you. That date with Tea doesn’t count."

_ Tea doesn’t count. _

It was like Yami was hearing a choir of angels as he listened to those words.

"Careful, Aibou, your emotions are showing," Yami chuckled. His eyes were still soft as he caressed Yugi's side.

"I'm not scared of showing them to you," he declared. Then he realized something, "Did you just call me 'Aibou'?"

"That I did. Do you mind?"

Yugi smirked, he rolled his hips, remembering their current position. "I don't. I like it. We are partners after all. You have a pet name for me after months of me torturing you with every new nickname I give you." He rolled his hips again, this time, the movement caused Yami's member to graze his prostrate and he mewled in delight. "Care for another round?"

"Of course. I am insatiable when it comes to you after all. I’m more concerned for you. Can  _ you  _ handle another round?" He got a glare for that statement. Yami ran his fingers down Yugi's sides and gave the smaller one another quick slap on his butt cheek eliciting a moan. "Someone's kinky."

"Someone's letting his pervyness out."

Yami shrugged. "So are you still able to go for another round?"

"Careful, Yami. I might punish you for your arrogance."

"So you  _ are _ into that?" Yami smirked as he slowly pulled out of Yugi, the two of them whimpering at the loss of contact.

"You awakened that in me, Yami. You only have yourself to blame," Yugi answered then moaned as he felt Yami's hand quickly connect to his butt cheek with a ringing slap.

 

* * *

 

There was something absolutely calming about having your hair brushed. 

Yugi always watched on TV shows and movies girls having their hair brushed by usually their mother or grandmother. Right now, he was in his sister's room, seated on the bed while Kisara brushed his already washed hair. 

Being in a Kisara's room was a little weird for Yugi. He rarely sees it and during her seven days in the States, the room was under lock and key. One thing he noticed was that it was extremely dark. She had navy blue curtains that did not let any sunlight into the room, her bedsheet was a matte black while she had different shades of blue for her pillows. Beside her bed was a big whiteboard filled with writings in both English and Japanese. Her desk had her laptop and the myriad of whiteboard markers. Above her desk was a corkboard filled with pictures of them. Him and her playing at the arcade, that time Grandpa decided to have family fun night, and even a few pictures of people he didn't know that he suspected were her friends here in Japan since in one of the pictures he saw Kisara's lawyer/ex-foster big brother/friend, Rafael. The little Instax camera that produced the pictures on her little corkboard was on her bedside table alongside the case for her eyeglasses and a picture of her and her adoptive fathers during a fancy red carpet event.

The morning he woke up, Yami was already gone but left a message saying he wanted to get ready for their date so he left while Yugi was still asleep. As per usual, Kisara was already up and a bit grumpy in the morning because of the jet lag and the fact that she actually went to bed last night. Despite her grumpy mood, she cooked a simple breakfast of onigiri and she was trying to drown herself in coffee to perk up. Yesterday when Yugi came home, Kisara already noticed his mood was off. She had asked him about it and he promised to tell her the next morning. Being quite the intuitive person that she is, Kisara noticed how tense Yugi was so she suggested coming to her room after he was finished taking a bath. Yugi hadn't expected that she would just brush his hair as he told her everything that has transpired during the week that she was away.

"You can't really blame yourself if you liked Yami and you acted upon it. She's heartbroken but in the end, she's going to have to accept it. I mean, you did the same for her, right? You once told me you had a crush on her and you never directly pursued her when you knew that she liked someone else. If she really is your friend, she will accept it." She didn't know how to comfort her brother correctly. Based from her own experience, different people get comfort from different things. He might react weirdly if she tried to hug him or rub his back, that was why she decided to brush his hair until it dries.

For some odd reason, he felt his nerves calm down as he let Kisara brush his hair. "I don't know how to face them anymore, Kisara. To be honest, I've been an ungrateful friend recently. I don't tell them how I feel, but the way I'm thinking, I feel like an ungrateful asshole. Even you told me that I talk so bad about them that you think they're shit friends, when in reality, they're the best friends anyone could ever have." He could remember Tea's words to him. It hurt that for some reason, Tea actually used their friendship against him.

Yugi was flailing now and as he talked, Kisara just squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. She kept quiet as she continued brushing, occasionally humming so he could know that she was still listening. As she listened, she also had to take note if there was a change in his voice or sniffing, signs that he was crying. At least Yugi was just flailing and not trembling.

There was something about the way Kisara just kept quiet that gave Yugi peace despite the chaos in his brain. "You know your whole 'if you don't want to think about it then don't' advice isn't the most helpful advice," he grumbled.

Kisara chuckled. "Look, I'm an adult who's made too many mistakes and has experienced too many failures. And I'm not even twenty-five yet. During the time that I’ve been alive, I found that I should be thinking clearly and carefully about the decisions I make because some of them are going to be permanent, with permanent consequences. As a teenager, your life is going to be a lot of hits and misses and you're just going to have to deal with it. As harsh as it sounds, it's the truth." She ran her fingers through Yugi's dark locks before sighing. "People make decisions and it will always have pros and cons. You and the rest of the world will just have to deal with it. The most you can do is talk to everyone involved and come to an understanding." 

"Should I talk to Tea now?"

"Do you know what to say to her yet?"

Yugi shook his head lightly.

"Then no, you shouldn't talk to her now. It'll just make things worse. What I would suggest is to think about what you really want to tell her."

Nodding slightly, Yugi let out a big sigh of relief. "I'm a wreck. Should I cancel my date with Yami?"

Kisara ruffled her brother's hair. "Don't. You need the time to relax and clear your head. At least you have him as your support system right now along with me. Enjoy yourself today, okay? Don’t think about tomorrow or next week or the next month. It doesn’t help when you worry about everything. Just think about your date with Yami. Get to know him. Forget about your problems because the more you let them worry you, the more prone you are to making mistakes."

Feeling like he had a surge of energy, Yugi flashed her his best smile before nodding. “How are you so good at this?” What kind of problems did his sister deal with to make her so good with advice?

"A different story for a different time." she smiled then got off the bed to put her brush back on its place on the dresser. "We have places to go today, baby brother. I'm taking a bath now. I cooked, you clean. I also have to start packing."

“You’re leaving again?” Yugi asked, a bit nervous.

“Just overnight. I have stuff to work on in the office, then I have to go to Tokyo for a dinner meeting.” She opened her closet and started getting different clothes out to choose from later. "Once you're done, you can go get ready for your date. Your boyfriend will be here soon."

"He's not my boyfriend, Kissy."

"Uh huh, sure," she giggled and winked at him before sending him out of her room.

After doing some last minute cleaning after washing the dishes, Yugi went back to his room and stared blankly in his closet.

How do you prepare for a date with your fuck buddy?

Was he supposed to think of Yami that way now that they were dating?

Suddenly the weight of reality came crashing down on him. He was going on a date. A date. With Yami. He was going on a date with Yami. He shook his head and stepped back until he landed on his bed. He looked at the skylight in his room. After blinking a few times he suddenly saw Yami smiling down at him before closing his eyes and lowering down on him for a kiss.

Yugi gasped and shook his head.

"Damn it, Yami," he groaned. His arm shielded his eyes from the light and he tried to level his mind.

How did the two of them go from not giving a fuck about each other to fucking each other and now dating? Why did they start fooling around in the first place? Why did they continue? Why did they keep wanting more every time?

Then, Yugi wasn't in his room anymore. He was in the living room that night last year. He was wrapped in his school jacket while Yami was wrapped in the comforter Yugi lent him.

Then, Yami was kissing him. He once asked why he did it. But Yami just countered it with another question.

_ "Why didn't you push me away?" _

In all honesty, Yugi liked it. He liked Yami's touch. His kisses. It always wound the pit in his stomach so tight and the release was just as pleasurable. Hell, it was Yugi who started unbuttoning and tugging for the removal of their clothing.

Yugi bottomed that night. They were both virgins and unbelievably naive.

But it would've been understandable if it was just a one time thing. A one night stand. It was until their senior year wherein they couldn't get rid of that itch at the back of their minds as they looked at each other's general direction. No one in the room could feel it except for the two tricolor haired teens. There was a thick tension in the air that first day they locked eyes and the realization that they would be spending a whole school year in the same room didn't help. The two teens are still at loss for words as to how they were able to last that long before they acted out their urges for one another.

It was a surprise to the both of them that they still wanted a replay of their last encounter. This time, they actually reached Yugi's bedroom. And to both of their delights, the second time around was just as good, if not better, as their first. Of course, there was still the underlying problem of dealing with his friends, and also the opinion of the other people at school.

He scoffed at that. He'd stopped caring what other people thought of him when he started high school. He decided he’d let people say what they wanted to say but if they ever try to roughen him up, he wasn’t going to back down without a fight. It was easier to just be feared than be pitied when you're a bloody pulp on the ground after the bullies were done with you. A little nugget of knowledge he learned from being with Joey and Tristan. Not really a good principle in life, but it was effective. Effective like Kisara’s constant advice.

"Oi, Yugi! Get your ass out of bed!" Speak of the devil. Kisara's voice broke whatever trance the tricolor haired teen was in and sat up.

There at the door way was his sister dressed in her black silk robe that was a good contrast to her pale skin. Her silvery-white hair was already blow dried into soft waves that framed her face. Her back was against the doorframe with her hands behind her head.

"Is that your battle suit?" Yugi eyed the short silk robe that was only until her mid thigh. 

Her twinkling laugh ran inside his bedroom. "No, brother dear. If I did go to my business meeting in this, my business partner might go into shock."

Yugi huffed. "Hey, Kissy?"

The girl hummed in acknowledgement.

"Seeing as you know how to dress for success, I need your help in picking an outfit for my date."

"Sure, baby brother. Want me to do your makeup too?" she giggled and received a glare for that. "I kid, brother dear. Come on, get up. I'm going to make sure Yami will need a herculean self-control to keep his hands to himself when he lays his eyes on you."

"Kissy, I don't want to look like a slut on our first date. It's bad enough people think I am," Yugi admonished.

"Oh please, baby brother. To the bottomest pits of hell with those people. You've seen me in my battle suits. Do I look like a slut in them?" she challenged.

The younger sibling just shook his head. "You look like a girl on a mission actually."

"Yep. Now let's see..." she walked towards the open closet and peered inside. “Oh! Wait! Hold on a sec!” A flash of white passed Yugi and out of the room then after a few more seconds, the same white flash returned. Kisara was holding a pink plastic bottle and tossed it over to her brother. “Apply this on your legs, no questions asked. You’ll thank me after your date,” she winked then turned back to the closet. 

The younger Mutou blinked a few times before complying. He opened the pink bottle. It was lotion, but the smell was so soft and airy, like baby powder. What’s it for?

“Don’t forget to put between your thighs,” Kisara said with her back still on Yugi.

“Yeah yeah…” he applied the unoffending lotion on his legs and when he was done, he set the bottle down on his desk.

The older sibling looked behind her and motioned her brother to come over. Once the younger sibling was next to her she turned her attention back to the closet. "You know, I've seen your casual wear, you can go with that...but since you're going to a forest trail, you should wear your black canvas sneakers instead of those studded black shoes. Oh and we're skipping any leather today. Wouldn't want you chafe during your little trek. And the fabric will smell like a month’s worth of BO after a couple of hours."

She started digging through her brother's closet and threw a pair of black denim pants at him. "Denim is good. It actually breathes instead of your usual leather pants."

Yugi unfolded the pants and stared at the pair. Kisara had to bite her lip to keep herself from laughing.

Perfect.

The pair was ripped on some places and it was slim fit. Based from the material, when she first held it in her hands, it was soft so her brother wouldn't feel too uncomfortable while walking in them. The younger sibling on the other hand looked at the pair then put it on over his boxers, earning a whistle of approval from his sister.

"I'd tell you to go commando, but...we'll save that for your third date," she commented with a wink as she turned back to the closet. "Holy shit! Who would've thought you actually had  _ light  _ colored clothing in here!" Kisara laughed.

“Do you have any dating advice? I don’t really know how this whole dating thing works,” Yugi asked as he popped back down on his bed. “I mean, I know I took Tea out on a ‘practice date’ a few weeks ago, but that didn’t count. Also, I know Tea. I don’t know what Yami likes.”

“You know that he likes you,” she answered, still facing the closet and rummaging through Yugi’s clothes. “Look, as cliche as this sounds, just be yourself. He already likes you, all you have to do now is let him know what he’s going to deal with should you guys continue to date.” She dug through Yugi’s closet and finally got a top she was happy about. She turned around to throw the top at her brother. “And one last thing,” she said pointedly. “Don’t put out on the first date. Sends a whole different message,” she said with straight face, but the look Yugi gave her made her burst into a fit of giggles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted a new chapter. Yay! Now this...Gods above! This chapter was super fun to write. Actually the next few chapters will be super fun to write. Are you ready for their first date? I do hope I do their first date justice....


	11. All is Fair in Dates and Duels

Yami's walk towards the Kame Game Shop wasn't supposed to be weird. But given that he was going on a date with Yugi made his heart jump.

A date with Yugi.

The red-eyed teen had already admitted to himself that he was actually pining over his little look-alike. Yami chuckled. Yugi had hit a growth spurt during their senior year, he was almost as tall as Tea, but still shorter than Yami by a couple of inches, no one except for Yami had noticed, not even Yugi had noticed. Before Kisara bought Yugi a new uniform that was his right size — which now accentuated how lean and delectable his body is — he wore the same uniform from his first year of high school, that it had looked tight and Yami couldn’t help himself when he stared at the sliver of flesh the smaller teen would accidentally show due to the tight clothes. The boy still had wide amethyst eyes and his once cherubic face had a bit of edge to it but his figure changed into a slender swimmer’s type of body. And Yami has had the pleasure of getting to know that body well.

But aside from his body, Yami got to know bits and pieces of Yugi's personality. And that was how he was drawn to the smaller teen. He was drawn to those expressive eyes whenever they would talk. When Yugi would ask if he was okay, those eyes were overflowing with concern and care that Yami couldn't help but get lost in them. At times when they would have sex, he would zone in on those amethyst orbs and drown himself in them. Then there was Yugi's humor, his love for games, his curiosity, his intelligence. It was a marvel to Yami that the rough and “damaged” boy the school had tagged him to be had a lighter side to him. A side that was only shown to those who were close enough to actually see it. The longer they spent time with each other, the harder he fell. The more he would pine over him. The more he would dream of kissing him in a loving way instead of the full heated passionate and lustful kisses they would share behind closed doors; to entwine his hand with the other whenever they were together.

Yami's mind was swimming while his body was on autopilot. Before he even realized it, he was already at the entrance to the house at the back of the Kame Game Shop. He rang the doorbell and prayed that this day will go as planned. Aside from lunch and a stroll in the park, which he will use to his advantage to get to know Yugi more, he called in a few favors to make the simple date more exciting. He just wished he could pull it off without a hitch. Knowing his luck with the universe though, this could possibly be the worst first date the two of them will ever have. 

Kisara opened the door and whistled, "Wow, Yami. You clean up good." 

The red-eyed teen was wearing black skinny jeans, grey v-neck shirt, and black lace-up boots. Something Yugi would want him to wear. Yugi had once raided Yami’s closet to borrow a clean shirt before going home. The smaller teen was pleasantly surprised that Yami had a lot of warm clothing he never wore since he lived i  Japan now. Yugi had insisted he wore them again since he looked sexy in them, except for the cargo shorts that Yugi wanted Yami to burn. Yugi had a lot of opinions regarding clothes that Yami should wear, especially leather. But leather was just too hot and too form fitting for him.

"Come on in, Yami. My brother's almost done getting ready and so am I. So I'll be out of your hair soon enough."

They climbed up the stairs to the main living area and after Yami had put down their lunch, he looked at the elder Mutou sibling. Kisara was getting ready for a meeting and she looked different from her usual black getup. She wore cream colored pants that flowed straight until the tops of her ankles and a silver sleeveless blouse. Her hair that was usually in a loose high ponytail, was down in soft waves. The beige heels she wore made her long legs look, if possible, longer. Her makeup was very sharp today as well. She looked slightly older with it, more mature.

“I don’t understand why girls use makeup to look older,” he said out loud.

Kisara giggled at him. “I’m using it to make myself look older to trick those old stuffed shirts into thinking they’re talking to someone a little nearer their age bracket. If I didn’t wear my make up this way, they might not take me seriously.”

"I feel bad for the poor sap you'll be dealing with today on your meeting." Yami chuckled.

The female Mutou sibling chuckled darkly, "Oh I assure you, Yami, if you think I'm deadly now, wait 'til you see my brother. Try to keep your hands to yourself alright?" She gave a playful wink at the red-eyed teen and went back upstairs to her room.

Yami heard the white-haired girl inform her brother of his arrival and the amethyst-eyed boy's faint reply. After a few minutes, Kisara descended from the stairs holding an overnight bag and her car keys. 

“You’re not coming home tonight?” Yami asked as he spotted the overnight bag.

“Nope. I’ll be staying at a hotel in Tokyo since I have a dinner meeting there. I hate driving home after a long day of work.” Kisara gave herself another once over before heading out the door. "I'll leave you kiddies to your hormonal devices." Before she left the living area towards the stairs leading her to the back door, she started to yell for her brother. "Yugi! I'll be back tomorrow morning! Please remember to clean the couch after you guys are done!" 

The red-eyed teen felt his cheeks redden as he heard the white-haired girl's words. He heard a faint "Fuck you!" from the top of the stairs where the bedrooms were. When he turned to the door, Kisara was gone.

Yami looked at the two takeout bags he bought from Burger World. Due to an awkward night wherein Yugi had asked to use whip cream for their foreplay, a night that he also found out that the smaller teen had a very demanding sweet tooth, Yami found out that Yugi's favorite food, aside from sugar, were hamburgers. After their messy foreplay, and the mind-blowing sex that followed, they cleaned each other and had a snack while they were naked with Yugi straddling him. The two of them were playing twenty questions food edition while they fed each other.

"Oi, Yami."

Ruby eyes turned to the direction of that familiar voice and the teen froze in place.  _ Oh gods... _

Yugi's fucking cute.

He was wearing ripped denim pants showing patches of his ivory skin. There was a soft blush painting Yugi's cheeks which contrasted well against the baby blue sleeveless zip-up hoodie. He still wore his signature leather wrist bands and choker but he also had a black armband on his upper left arm and a silver chain necklace with a bar pendant that looked similar to her sister's consistent accessory. 

Yami felt a finger on his chin as his mouth closed. He looked at a smirking Yugi. "Like what you see?"

The taller teen blinked then smirked, "Now that you mention it, I do. Who would've thought that you own something that's not black aside from our uniform?" He kissed the tip of Yugi's nose and was rewarded with another blush which added to his cuteness.

"Hi" the smaller teen squeaked.

"Hello" Yami replied in a very low and dangerous tone. His features soften after he felt the other teen shiver. They needed to control themselves today so they could actually  _ go  _ on the date and not end up staying in the whole day, and naked. "I bought your favorite food for lunch today," he said clearing his throat.

Those amethyst eyes widen in delight at the thought. The two teens gathered to the living room and opened the TV to a random channel. Yami laid out the food for the both of them and they started eating.

The smaller teen was humming happily at his meal while the other was chuckling. He was used to the rough and absent-minded persona and the lust-filled minx persona of Yugi, but he rarely sees this happy-go-lucky wide-eyed teen come out. He was enjoying the sight.

The pair started playing twenty questions as they sat and ate. 

“What’s with the whole leather ensemble?” Yami asked.

Yugi couldn’t help but giggle. “I’m a big fan of the movie Edward Scissorhands. I even have like a white button down and black suspenders that matches Edward’s outfit in the movie.” He looked over the expression on Yami’s face and rolled his eyes. “You thought I wear the choker and the wristbands because I’m into BDSM or some shit?”

Yami laughed nervously. “Can you blame me? It’s what everyone in school talks about.”

Ignoring the statement, Yugi asked his question. “What was dueling Maximillion Pegasus like? I know you dueled him twice, but both duels were not televised.”

“Annoying,” Yami replied with a scoff. “The word I’d describe him is frilly.”

“I already know that, Kisara told me,” Yugi dismissed. “But what’s his deck like? I know that he uses a toon deck. What was it like facing a toon deck wielded by the game creator himself?”

Curiosity made Yugi’s eyes shine, and Yami was again tantalized. Looks like gaming is a safe and great topic to talk about. “It was tricky and very hard to take seriously at first, especially when he has a Toon Dark Magician. I will say that he is a formidable opponent, and since he created the game, he can almost read your strategies based on the cards you play. I actually had to rethink all of my strategies since he seems to be reading my mind when I play my usual combos.”  Yami had almost forgotten that Yugi was gamer. And a good one at that. It was a good thing he planned this date accordingly.

After their quick lunch, Yugi cleaned up the living room while Yami disposed of the takeout. He turned towards the direction of the living room to see the other teen bending over while cleaning. The small sliver of skin that was revealed to him was just as tempting as the ass that looked like it was being offered in front of him. They had been sleeping together for such a long time, and yet, the smaller teen was still irresistible to him. He figured, since he already knew every patch of skin on Yugi's body, he'd grown used to it by now. But seeing his ass in action within the confines of those jeans was making his mouth water. The teasing line of skin that was exposed for his pleasure was making his mind wander. He was imagining himself reaching under the fabric and run his palms over the porcelain skin greedily, his nail grazing lightly to force the other teen to emit those delicious mewls that always made the crimson-eyed teen crazy with desire.

"I can feel you looking at my ass, Yami." The sound of Yugi's voice broke the taller teen's trance and he blinked several times before walking over to the living room.

"Get your deck, Yugi. I want that lap dance," he smirked as he sat casually on the loveseat.

Yugi eyed him carefully then scoffed, "Fine. Get ready to be de-throned, Your Highness. I wanna see how fuckable you look in leather. But mostly, I want to kick you off your pedestal."

The crimson-eyed teen raised an eyebrow at him, "You can try."

"Please, you have televised duels, and I've watched all of them. So I'll know what strategy you'll use and I know how to beat it," he smirked as he bounced up the stair towards his room.

Yami twisted his body so he was lying down on the loveseat facing towards the stairs. When the smaller teen returned, he had another belt lazily hanging around his waist. "So...you've been watching me on TV huh?" Yami asked with an amused smirk on his face.

"Don't flatter yourself, your Highness. I'm a gamer, I need to know about my potential opponents' strategies, so I can win." He walked towards the couch, "Are we going or what?"

The taller teen eyed the small deck box attached to the extra belt. "I wish I was this little deck box, so I can be on your delicious ass all the time." He ran his hand along Yugi's leg then his thigh and resting the warm hand on the smaller one's ass, squeezing it lightly before getting up and offering his hand. "Shall we?"

Yugi chuckled and raised his eyebrow at the gesture but took it nonetheless. But not without a snarky remark. "What's with you? You turn into a gentleman after you've molested me with your eyes and hands? Some date you are!"

"Well, chivalry's not yet dead, but you can't ignore the fact that I'm still a hormonal teenager." He kissed the tip of Yugi's nose before he opened the door. Once they were out, Yugi's hand tightened around Yami's, making sure that their hands didn't pull away from each other due to natural instinct when they were out of the four walls of the Mutou residence. Yami smiled and pulled his date closer, "Did I mention how stunning you look today? If not, I apologize. You forced my mind to restart when I laid my eyes on you."

With those words uttered by Yami's husky tone, Yugi's cheeks went bright red and his heart started to flutter.  _ Goddamn! Yami was putting his charm on high today.  _ "Who are you and what did you do to Yami Sennen?"

The other boy chuckled then pressed his forehead against Yugi's. "This man right here in front of you is Yami Sennen. The guy you've been sleeping with is just a part of him. Now you get the whole package, baby." In all honesty, he wanted to put the full charm on Yugi. He was now given free reign to actually flirt with the boy and he'd be damned if he wasn't going to take full advantage of it. It's been months...no. If he was really going to be completely honest with himself, he'd been pining for the boy for a year now. 

“I should warn you though, I’m not the flowery romance type of guy.” Yugi avoided Yami’s gaze and bit his lip. “But, I think I’m willing to try if you’re into that. I haven’t tried it before, so hey, maybe I might like it.” He flashed a sweet smile at a very confused Yami then continued walking.

“Well, if you’re willing to try, then I shouldn't disappoint,” Yami replied. He made a mental note to ask Mana, and maybe even Malik, for pointers. Mana may be single but she knew picture perfect spots in Domino like the back of her hand. Pair that with Malik’s advice on romance, Yami was sure that he could impress Yugi. He would send a message to those two tomorrow. But for now, he could deal with the little things, like spoiling Yugi’s sweet tooth. They took a detour at a candy store and everything Yugi touched, Yami bought. As they exited the store, Yami held Yugi’s waist and would squeeze it every few moments when he felt extra flirty.

Meanwhile, Yugi was enjoying himself as he received the special attention Yami gave him as they walked towards the park. His mind was on edge, a part of him was slightly paranoid with Yami, waiting for their little thing to just implode and break and fail, while the other part of him was floating as he was continuously showered with Yami's flirty affections. He was scared out of his mind and completely ecstatic at the same time. 

They reached the park and, as expected, they hadn't encountered anyone they knew from school. The Domino West Park served as a picnic ground and dog park. The forest trail became a jogging path for health buffs. There weren't that many judgemental parents with their kids, they were at the kid’s park which was on the other side of the city. Parents don’t like bringing their kids here since the park had some stray cats and dogs that were being taken care of by the park caretakers and even the patrons themselves. 

The two boys walked along the forest trail and settled down in a small gazebo overlooking the large koi pond and they were back to their game of twenty questions. 

"Have you ever been here before?" Yami asked. He inched closer to the smaller teen discreetly.

"During my parents ‘practice divorce’, grandpa took me here," Yugi started. 

This took Yami by surprise. He knew of Yugi's divorced parents, the whole school knew. It was the very thing people tried to torment him with. But not once did the amethyst-eyed boy ever started a conversation about it. Hell, Yugi has gone through so much extent just so the topic of his parents was avoided. Yami kept his lips tightly closed as he waited for the other boy with his story.

"My mom's allergic to cat hair and dad doesn't like the smell of dogs. So grandpa took me here to get away from them. They were trying their best to fight over my custody, until grandpa eventually won. But before all that chaos happened, he took me to this place to play with the dogs and cats." Yugi's eyes were trained to the koi pond he's seen long ago. "I was crying when I found out about the divorce. It made me realize that I wasn't enough for them to keep them together." Yugi looked straight into Yami's crimson eyes searching for the emotion that will be thrown towards him. He saw familiarity, not pity. Not a single trace of pity or apology was present in his eyes which made the smaller teen smile softly. He didn’t need pity, from anyone. And especially not from Yami.

The crimson-eyed teen jumped as he felt something rub against his leg. He looked down and saw a grey cat with green eyes purring against him.

"Hey, cutie!" Yugi squealed as he picked up the cat. He ran his fingers along the feline's back until its tail and it purred in ecstasy. "When my grandpa got home, my parents were there, and my mom was in a sneezing fit coz I was covered in cat hair. Do you like cats?"

Yami nodded. "My mother used to have one back in Egypt. An orange tabby she named Popcorn." He scratched the top of the cat's head and looked at his date with a soft smile.

"What made you move to Japan?"

"To forget about my mother," Yami automatically answered and froze as he realized what he said. He was so comfortable with Yugi that he didn't even notice he was opening up one of the biggest wounds to him.

This was new. Yugi had never heard Yami talk about his family life other than his father and his cousins. He never asked about the Sennen matriarch since it never came up. They hardly talked. This little fact made Yugi purse his lips in frustration and disappointment. He had found a kindred spirit in Yami, someone he could've connected with when his parents decided that they didn't love each other anymore.

"I'll share that story another time. Let's just agree that we both have our fair share of mommy and daddy issues okay?" Yami asked with a gentle smile on his face. "I want our first date to be sweet and something worth remembering."

As if on cue, the cat jumped from Yugi's arms and started to run towards the path away from them. Like it knew drama and baggage was present and he needed to leave before he got dragged into it.

"Sweet. Sure. I guess it was my fault we went on such a dark topic." Yugi smiled. He sighed through his nose and willed every bit of self confidence he had before speaking again. "Let me remedy that." He cupped Yami's face and leaned in to plant a soft kiss on his lips. 

Yami pressed his lips back but neither boy moved to make the kiss deeper. That wasn't the point of it. Their eyes were closed, and they both reveled at the electricity they both felt run down their spine. When they finally pulled away, the two teens stared in each other's eyes and giggled. “Did you know that Mana had a crush on you back in freshman year?” Yami teased.

Yugi blinked. “Oh,” he replied as if he had a realization.

His date scowled. “What?”

The smaller teen shook his head. “It’s nothing. Everything just became clear to me…” he trailed off. He looked at Yami and smirked. “Mana used to talk to me back in freshman year during volleyball practice. I never really realized it but freshman year suddenly made sense to me now that you told me that.”

“Why?”

“Well, I used to watch the volleyball team practice after class since Tea insisted that we go home together to keep me out of trouble. Funny that Tea never introduced me to Mana. Mana just went up to me and introduced herself. Then she started talking…” he trailed off.

Yami burst out laughing understanding what Yugi meant. “Oh yeah. Mana can talk about air and it would sound like the most interesting thing ever. I have no idea how she does it.”

Yugi laughed nervously. “Yeah, well I was pretty timid back then. So she was a big surprise to me. After a few days, I started noticing that whenever I enter the gym, no matter where I sit, she always gets her gear and move them next to where I sit. And during her water breaks or when she’s benched during practice games, she always sits beside me and would touch my arm whenever she talks about the game to me.”

“Mana was always touchy to people she considers friends. She does that to Marik and Bakura too That’s nothing new.”

“Oh no. That’s not the last of it,” Yugi smirked. “Tea stopped asking me to come with her to volleyball practice after she saw Mana kissing my cheek before she left.”

Yami’s eyes bugged out. “What?” he asked in disbelief, his voice was a little louder than he expected. Mana left out that little part.

Chuckling, Yugi continued with his story. “It used to be a cheek to cheek touch thing back then. Mana is always the first one out of the showers after practice. She would touch her cheek against mine whenever she says her goodbye. But then, the one time Tea leaves from the shower room early, she sees Mana kissing my cheek goodbye for the first time.” Yugi giggled at the memory. “That made me think that maybe Tea was jealous coz another girl was giving me attention. But I’m not that lucky. So yeah, after that, Tea has asked Joey and Tristan to accompany me home instead of inviting me to watch their practice. I think the reason she gave was that their practices were starting to get longer and she didn’t want me to go home too late.”

“Mana kissed you on the cheek?” Yami asked, ignoring everything after he heard that little tidbit.

Amethyst eyes blinked at him in confusion. “What? Are you jealous or something?” Yugi teased.

Pouting, Yami huffed. “No!” he said a little too strongly earning a giggle from Yugi. “I am not jealous. Tea likes me, you know!” His own eyebrows shot up and his body froze once those words left him. 

_ Landmine found! Abort! Abort! Retreat! Retreat! _

Yugi snickered. “Yeah, like  _ that’s _ going to bother me. The whole school knows that’s not fact anymore.”

Crimson eyes looked away as the other boy cringed. Oh he knew that.

Yugi hummed thoughtfully. “You know, we seriously need to pick different topics on our date.”

The other boy scoffed. “No kidding. First we talk about our family problems, then we talk about other people who like us. This date is going  _ wonderfully. _ ”

“It’s a shame I don’t have my sister’s talent for changing to a more desirable topic so easily,” Yugi commented.

“I have noticed that about her. She will ask a very inappropriate question then drift off completely to a new question. How does she do that?”

“I don’t know. But she’s good with that. And I think she’s aware of her little gift that she’s smart with it,” Yugi shook his head as he remembered every single time his sister has used her gift on him. “We’ll be talking about one thing and then she’ll say something that will make me retort strongly before even catching myself. Then she’ll have this annoyingly victorious smirk on her face when I realized that I just divulged a specific piece of information she wanted.”

Yami winced as he remembered his little talk with Kisara. “Don’t remind me. She did that to me too.”

The two looked at each other and suddenly laughed. 

“I’ve always been curious about something,” Yugi started. “Why is your name Yami when you’re Egyptian? I don’t recall Yami meaning anything spectacular in Arabic.”

The taller teen chuckled. “That’s true.” He stood up and offered his hand. “Do you mind if we walk around while we talk?”

Yugi smiled and shook his head. “I don’t mind,” he said as he took Yami’s hand, threading their fingers. It felt nice, and he’s willing to admit, he could feel butterflies in his stomach as he walked beside the other boy.

“My full name is actually Atem Yami Sennen,” Yami started. 

“Yami is your second name?”

Yami nodded. “But since people here in Japan pronounce things differently, ‘Atem’ will be spelled and pronounced as ‘Atemu’. So I just took the name Yami instead.”

“But why were you named Yami?” Yugi asked.

“My father named me, and he knew Japanese long before I was born,” Yami explained. “I was born during a blackout in the hospital in Egypt. Everything that could’ve gone wrong during the delivery didn’t happen. If anything, my mother had a smooth delivery when the blackout suddenly happened.”

“Really? How did that work?”

“Well, the way my dad told me about it was that while my mom was in labor, she was in absolute pain, and the lights would flicker whenever she would scream in agony. Then, when they got to the delivery room it was at the exact moment the doctor told her to start pushing that the blackout happened. It was as if the darkness was the signal of my arrival,” Yami chuckled. He then wrapped his arm around Yugi’s waist then bit on Yugi’s ear lightly and continued his story once he got to see Yugi blush at his actions. “I was born in under a few minutes, my mom was able to give birth to me easily.”

“So your dad named you Yami?”

The crimson-eyed teen nodded. “My mom wanted to name me Atem, after a pharaoh, like my dad was named after a pharaoh. Then my dad added the name Yami, saying that the darkness was my ally. Also to give me another name people can call me by if I was too irritated to be called Atem.” They found another gazebo which was next to the koi pond this time and they took a seat there. “So, tell me, Yugi,” Yami started as he dipped his head in Yugi’s neck. He inhaled Yugi’s scent, it was the usual orange scent with a hint of a fresh powdery scent that was new. He liked it a lot. “Why were you named Yugi?”

The amethyst-eyed teen beamed when he sat on the table in the middle of the gazebo. “My grandpa named me Yugi,” he answered with a big smile. “He used to be an avid gamer, he still is, but back then he could wipe out tables in casinos and sweep through tournaments. So when my mother gave birth to me and let grandpa name me, he named me Yugi which means game.”

“Your parents didn’t mind having your grandfather name you?”

“I guess even back then they really couldn’t care less,” Yugi shrugged.

Yami wanted to berate himself. Again, he encountered another land mine while he was trying to get to know Yugi. Yami tried to gauge Yugi’s reaction, but his eyes seemed blank and uninterested. He was about to apologize until Yugi spoke again.

“Why did your dad learn Japanese while he was in Egypt?”

The question took Yami off guard. He looked at Yugi and his eyes were shining with interest. Crisis averted. “My dad’s favorite professor is Japanese, so he decided to learn the language while he also learned from his professor. It’s a useful skill when his siblings live here in Japan.”

“You know, I’m a bit confused with how you and your cousins are related. Especially Kaiba. The whole world knows he was an orphan that was adopted by Gozaburo Kaiba. If your cousins were here, how come Seto was adopted by another family?”

Yami breathed out a chuckle and rested his chin on Yugi’s knee. “That’s because Seto’s father, who is the youngest of four siblings, got Seto’s mother pregnant at seventeen. His name on his birth certificate is actually Set Sennen. Named after the Egyptian god, Set. Of course, since he was born here in Japan, his name is spelled as Seto. Given that my uncle, Seto’s father, got a girl pregnant at a very young age, this angered our very traditional and old-fashioned grandfather that he kicked him out of the house and the will. Seto’s dad moved to Japan and cut all of his family ties.”

“What?!” Yugi all but yelled in surprise. “Why would he do that?”

Yami shrugged. “My grandfather? I don’t know. But it sparked a lot of tension in the family which prompted his twin children, Bakura’s dad and Marik’s mom, to work abroad to leave said tension. They decided to live in Japan in hopes of finding their youngest brother but failed.”

"That must be rough," Yugi replied. "Seventeen? Isn't Kaiba just three years older than you guys?"

Yami nodded. "My dad is the eldest. He's older than Seto's dad by eight years. His twin siblings were only two years younger than him."

"Why the long age gap?"

"My grandma had a miscarriage three years after she had her twins. It devastated her. She loves kids after all. So she never let her husband touch her since it scared her to lose a child that way." He remembered how his grandmother had spoiled him and his cousins while they were still in Egypt. Living in her house was actually the best despite his memories of his parents fighting there. "She considered it a miracle when she was able to give birth to Seto's dad, uncle Akunadin. And it absolutely broke her when he was disowned by her husband and she was helpless to do anything."

"I can imagine. I know Grandpa went into depression when he found out that Kisara was assumed to be dead. So much so that my parents got married just to maybe ease his pain," Yugi said. He remembered that day in the Social Services office wherein he and his grandfather first found out about Kisara. The old man was in shock and wasn't sure how to feel knowing that his granddaughter, he thought was dead, was actually the woman in front of them. "But how did you find Seto in the end?"

"Seto found us, actually. It's public knowledge that after his real parents got into a car accident and died, he and Mokuba stayed in an orphanage for a few months. He got adopted by Gozaburo after beating the old oaf in a game of chess. When he got adopted by Gozaburo Kaiba, he finally had the resources to track down the rest of his family. It was easy since our uncle Karim, Bakura's dad, was already a Japanese citizen and working as a research assistant in Domino University. He introduced himself as Akunadin Sennen's son and you can only imagine the shock my uncle experienced. He was so happy to see Seto and a bit heartbroken knowing about his brother's demise that the first thing he did was call his twin sister and his older brother." Yami faintly remember his first trip to Japan just to meet his long lost cousin. His grandmother was seated next to him telling him how excited she was to finally meet his first grandson. Going to Japan always meant seeing his cousins Marik and Bakura, and after meeting Seto and Mokuba for the first time, the five of them became close friends. 

"What about your grandpa?"

Yami chuckled sadly. "He died long before that. According to my grandmother, he died of hatred and regret in his heart. If there's one person in this world that my grandfather loved it was my grandmother. And when he decided to disown their youngest child, it tore them apart that he spent the rest of his life begging for her forgiveness. He died before we found out about Seto. His reemergence did prompt Marik's mom, aunt Safiya, to move from Osaka to Domino. Of course, with Seto and Mokuba being child geniuses, Gozaburo wouldn't let them be taken away from him that easily."

Yugi was really fascinated with Yami’s friendship with his cousins. They acted as brothers more than cousins. It was interesting for him to hear stories about them. He wished he could share stories like that with Yami. Then again, he had a myriad of half siblings thanks to the many marriages his parents have had. But he didn’t really get along with any of them. They were products of his parents’ divorce. They existed because his parents left him. The only sibling he got along with was Kisara, which was weird for him since she was also part of the reason why their parents divorced in the first place. It wasn’t fair to see her that way since she also suffered because of their parents. If anything, she was probably jealous of him for actually having a family to live with and not have to hop from one family to another. 

"So...are we dueling here? Coz I didn't bring my duel disk...and neither did you. It’s also too windy here to play on the stone table." Yugi was back to his playful self. Then he squeaked when Yami suddenly pulled him to sit on his lap.

"Well, it's still a bit early so I figured we could use the fresh air for awhile. I mean, your place is fun and all but I'd like to spend a day outdoors with you before we retire to your room."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You assume I'm going to put out on the first date."

"True. But I've got a brown paper bag full of sweets that says I’m getting some tonight."

"Are you bribing me for sex?"

"Is it working?" he asked as he showed said paper bag from the candy store they detoured to a while ago.

"Well..." Yugi considered as he took the brown paper bag from Yami's grasp.

The taller teen chuckled, "Sex is on the table again?" He nuzzled his face against Yugi's cheek.

"Actually, sex never left the table," he chuckled. "So if we're not dueling here, then where?" Yugi squeaked when Yami's arms tighten around his hips and carried him. "Wait! What are you?"

Yami ignored him as he settled the smaller teen on the stone table in the middle of the gazebo. "Kaiba Corp Tower." He rested his chin on Yugi's knee and smiled, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

"What?!"

"What?"

"How...?"

"I called Seto and cashed in a favor he owes me. He has a personal dueling arena at his office for when he wants to duel punks who think they can one up him in business. Or put some of Mokuba’s bullies in their proper places."

"So we're dueling at Seto Kaiba's personal dueling arena? Wow! I feel fancy." Yugi drawled sarcastically.

"Perks of dating me," Yami snickered. "Speaking of my overly egotistical cousin-"

"Oh,  _ you’re  _ not the overly egotistical one in the family?"

"I'd say 'fuck you' to that, but you're my date so I need to treat you nicely or I'll get blue balls tonight. But anyways, speaking of Seto, he's in Tokyo for a business meeting tonight and will be back tomorrow morning. He almost had me babysit Mokuba which will obviously put a damp on our date plans, so I told him, if I could get Bakura to do it, will he let me cash in the favor he owes me by letting me use his arena for our date."

"He didn't mind?"

"Not one bit. And Bakura is easy to bribe. I just need to promise doing his homework for two weeks and we're even."

"So Seto's the egotistical one, you're the bribing asshole, and based on their reputation at school, Bakura and Marik are the evil geniuses. If you and your cousins put your hearts into it, you guys could be evil overlords in the future."

"Well now that you know of our master plan, I'm going to have to kill you."

"Can I bargain for my life if I let you keep me as your pleasure slave?" Yugi mocked begged, his finger teasingly hooking at Yami’s shirt collar.

"Depends..." Yami said as he playfully tapped on his chin with his index finger as if trying to actually consider Yugi's offer. "I still need to know how good you are in giving lap dances for me to agree. You can give me one for free so we don't have to duel."

"Not a chance. And why are you so obsessed with me giving you a lap dance anyways? Do you think lap dances are part of the curriculum in my dance classes?"

"Miho’s birthday party. I saw you dancing on top of one of the tables. Granted, there were dozen of people dancing that night and you weren't the center of attention, but I saw you."

"Miho’s birthday... Hey... Isn't that-"

"The night we had sex for the first time." Yami felt his cheeks redden at the confession. He narrowed his eyes and pinch Yugi's side when he heard him snicker.

"Not sure if I would be creeped out or be flattered. Now I know I'll be merciless to you on our duel later."

"Is that so?"

"You better watch out, Yami Sennen. Someone's going to take that crown of your head soon."

The cab ride to Kaiba Corp was filled with trash talking and giggling. They started talking about the parameters of the duel when they entered office building towards Kaiba's private elevator. The two look-alikes promised to show each other their decks when they go back to Yugi's place and Yami promised to only use one god card during their duel. Osiris.

"What? You don't want that lap dance that badly?" Yugi asked with a scoff.

Yami shook his head. "I like how you think that I'm using only one god card because I don't want to win that badly and not because I think you won't have a fighting chance against me with all three in my possession."

"Well? Why are you using just one then?"

"Because I wanna duel you using the deck I used to claim the god cards, but Osiris is my card so I'm putting him in the mix. He is the first god card I won."

"So Osiris is your insurance policy that you’ll win?” the other asked teasingly. “I know your deck, we have similar cards, like the Dark Magician and Kuriboh and what not, but no worries, I won't be using them against you. What kind of respectable duelist would I be to use your babies against you?" Yugi chuckled.

"You're welcome to have my babies," Yami whispered huskily in Yugi's ear as they rode up Seto's private elevator.

ugi couldn't help himself, he laughed out loud but his cheeks were still stained with the blush courtesy of Yami's smooth words. "Oh gods! Where did this charm come from, Yami? I'm flattered and frazzled and all, but I feel kinda jealous. If you're this good on putting on the charm then you must've had practice. Oh and by the way, you and I don't have a uterus so no babies for you."

Yami blinked at Yugi's words. A soft smile graced his lips in realization, the uterus comment already forgotten. "If you're insinuating that you're not the first person I've...courted, then you're wrong."

"Then how-"

A finger stopped Yugi's lips from moving. "I discovered that being honest with you works. And even though this is our first date, I'm so comfortable with you, I can actually put on the charm by telling you what I want from you and," he practically purred the last part of his statement, “what I want to do to you.” He dipped his head and bit on Yugi’s earlobe slightly then pulled away.

"Alright. None of this," he waved his finger around Yami, "during the duel. No dirty mind games from you." There was amusement in Yugi's eyes as he scowled at the taller boy.

They were having fun. And they were still fully clothed. They didn't need to be naked to have fun with each other. The elevator doors opened to show a navy blue carpeted floor. The white walls had framed posters of different duel monster cards. The two teens walked out of the elevator and down the hallway towards brown double doors. Inside the room was an open area. The floor had lines showing where the players were supposed to stand when carrying their duel disks.

"Do you want to use a duel disk or use the big arena?" Yami asked.

"Duel disk. Come on, Yami! I'm excited to kick your ass!"

 

* * *

 

Yami did not expect this.

He was expecting a friendly duel with Yugi so he could win a lap dance, but now, it felt like he was battling for his crown in one of Seto's lavish tournaments. They weren't televised, but he was damn sure that the arena was collecting their data for Seto to study when he gets back. Yugi might be a pleasant surprise for the brunet, depending on his mood. If his cousin ever finds out that someone that wasn't him had defeated the King of Games, then he would go livid and hunt Yugi down to pester him for a duel until he's defeated the amethyst-eyed amateur duelist.

For the first few rounds, both duelists have been gritting their teeth to deplete the other's life points. Now, the reigning game king was too busy protecting his life points, he didn't have any time to put more monsters in attack mode. Currently, the only monster he had in attack mode was The Tricky, and Yugi was hell bent on tearing the monster down with his Silent Swordsman. Speaking of the nefarious monster, the card grows stronger at every turn and Yugi had manipulated his cards into protecting the damn thing. Yami's own monsters had been sent to his hand, deck and graveyard far too many times just so the blue warrior remained on the field unharmed. Most of them in the graveyard thanks to the monster's ever growing attack power.

Meanwhile, Yugi had a smirk permanently etched on his face. He was having too much fun destroying the crimson-eyed duelist's wall monsters and depleting his hand. His Silent Magician was waiting on the wings in his deck and one wrong move, Yami will power-up Yugi's ace monster in one turn. But Yugi was waiting for Yami's ace while also getting rid of Yami's monsters. The smaller duelist knew that there was a god resting in his opponent's deck and he'd be damned if Yami get's enough monsters on his field to summon it. Osiris was also the reason Yugi was hell bent on diminishing Yami's hand. The god's power was solely dependent on how many cards the wielder has in his hand after all.

Yugi couldn't help his giggles when he played his Black Hole magic card. He finally got rid of The Tricky before Yami could make tokens at the expense of his swordsman, but he could get it back if he really wanted to. He had The Warrior Returning Alive and Monster Reincarnation cards in his hand. 

"There goes your sacrificial lamb. I'm not going to just wait around for you to summon Osiris," he teased. He'd gained enough confidence now to be cocky.

Yami was not only on edge, but also on fire. He hadn't had a great duel since his last run in with Kaiba when he had to fight god versus god with the young CEO. The way the duel has been going on, Yami was getting turned on as he saw the permanent smirk on Yugi’s face and the fire in his amethyst-eyes as he declared his attacks. From across the field, the smaller teen was winking and flirting at him while taunting him at the same time whenever he would succeed in tearing down Yami’s strategies. 

He looked at his hand, and he wanted to seriously burn it. He only had Pot of Greed and Kuriboh. Yugi was down to his last five hundred life points while Yami was still at seventeen hundred. Thankfully, during the last turn, Yugi's swordsman was  _ finally _ sent to the graveyard, and he hoped the damn thing would finally stay there. The level seven monster was responsible for the large population of cards in his graveyard at the moment and he'd bet that his Call of the Haunted card, the one that could seriously help him right now, was at the very bottom of his deck, just right before Osiris since the reigning game king has yet to draw his god card. Fortunately, he was able to summon the Dark Magician during this turn but his life points took a hit thanks to a grave mistake on his part for attacking the godforsaken set monster, Marshmallon. He wanted to slap the smirk off of Yugi's face when the little pink blob appeared the moment his monster attacked it, getting rid of a thousand of his life points. And the little shit can't be destroyed in battle. 

Because the stupid flip effect just wasn't enough.

"So, Mr. King of Games, what do you think? Am I worthy to be in your presence in this dueling arena?" Yugi teased. The duel was an absolute turn on for him too. He’d yet to admit it to the taller teen, but Yugi had been watching Yami’s duels not only because he studied the strategies of the game king, but the way the taller teen commanded himself during duels made him his secret crush. Now, hearing Yami’s “King of Games” voice while they duel, the smaller duelist couldn’t help but feel excited for their game and flirt at the reigning king. Maybe he could convince his highness to talk to him that way in bed… “Well, your Highness?” he smirked at his opponent.

"Shut up! I'm thinking," Yami snapped with humor in his eyes. "Are you sure you rarely go on tournaments?" Yugi was too good to just be an occasional local tournament duelist. He could go pro alongside him with the way he manipulated his deck. And he’s seen his duel standings from Kaiba’s own archives.

The smaller duelist laughed, "I've been dueling since grade school, Yami. I started joining tournaments since fourth grade, but only joined around five local ones. Entrance fees are too expensive. Still undefeated of course."

"Of course you are," Yami sneered.

"Grandpa owns a game shop. He taught me how to duel and Joey is a sore loser. He always challenges me to duels until he beats me... Still undefeated of course." He reiterated just to bring it home that he's yet to be defeated. Irking Yami to no end.

"Arrogant little shit." He rolled his eyes and shook his head as he chuckled. He was having too much fun dueling and trash talking with Yugi.

"Is that how you treat your date?" Yugi giggled.

"Oh, are you using the date card now? And besides, aren’t we past that now when you called me an arrogant asshole two turns ago?"

"A guy can hope right?"

Yami scoffed but was still smiling at his date-slash-opponent. It was Yugi's turn and the smaller duelist had a wicked smile on his face. "You can't use your flirting skills on me to win. You've got a long way to go, Aibou. I wasn't foolishly crowned the King of Games coz of my charm and good looks." 

"Kol khara!" Yugi seethed, narrowing his eyes as he cursed in Arabic with ease as if it was his native tongue.

This took the Egyptian duelist by surprise. He didn't know that Yugi spoke Arabic. Then again, his grandfather was usually in archaeological digs in Egypt so it was possible that the old man had taught his grandson the language. Yami had to chuckle and replied in a language he hasn't spoken in a long time. "Eat shit eh? Careful with that sharp tongue, little one. Someone might cut it off. I still have some...activities in mind for that tongue."

"It would be better for you to focus on our game than think with your dick," Yugi replied in flawless Arabic as he drew his card, signaling the start of his turn.

Yami was smirking but it disappeared when Yugi suddenly spoke in Japanese again.

"I summon Silent Magician in attack mode!"

Another silent monster.

Because of course he has another one.

The little white magician was still in level zero. A thousand attack points would be suicide when left in attack mode with Yami's Dark Magician still in play. What's he up to? Yugi set two face downs which Yami eyed warily. So Yugi has Marshmallon, a monster that can't be destroyed in battle, and Silent Magician, a monster that grows in strength, on the field and two face down cards. Card of Sanctity was activated and Yami was forced to draw four cards. There it was, Osiris, and support cards to possibly help him summon it. He was too busy formulating a strategy that it took him by surprise when the little magician went up four levels, raising her attack power to three thousand. 

The moment Yugi declared his attack, Yami's mind went into overdrive. Thankfully, Yami had a set card, Negate Attack. It ended Yugi's battle phase and turn and Yami lived to make another turn.

"That was a close call, Yugi. But the Dark Magician is my ace monster. It'll take more than just higher attack points to bring him down."

"Oh yeah? Well, the Silent Magician is my ace. It's only fitting I defeat your ace with mine," he retorted with a wink.

If it was possible, Yami was beyond turned on right now. Their playful banter and trash talking was making him hard that he was already planning on how to ravage the amateur duelist when they go back to Yugi's place. But before anything else, he needed to put the amateur duelist in his place. 

_ Trust your gut feeling, if it hasn't failed you before, chances are it won't fail you now. _

Those were the words of Solomon Mutou to Yugi during his first official championship tournament duel. Right now, Yugi had a gut feeling that he's about to experience the wrath of a god. Based from all of his opponent's televised duels, Yugi had noticed that Yami's strategies when a god card was concerned were to bring forth as much monsters as he could on the field and use them as sacrifice. A few turns ago, that was Yami's strategy. But now, since the smaller duelist had made it his personal mission to keep Yami's count of wall monsters between zero and one, the king of games is using a different strategy. His sexual cravings will have to take a backseat for now. He needed to focus on putting Yami in his place.

_ Maybe it's because he's already got the Dark Magician.  _

_ It's his ace, and a big chunk of his magic and trap cards are support cards for the spellcaster. _

Yugi was in deep thought trying to search his memories for the game king’s past strategies using the famous monster.

Trying to formulate a plan, Yami had to act fast before Yugi's Silent Magician gains enough points that even Osiris's power was useless. One way he could diminish the spellcaster's power was through Osiris's second mouth but that would require the right timing and the right card combination. Unfortunately, to execute that plan, he had to have Osiris on the field first. He had to summon the god now to get rid of Yugi's ace. He drew his card and the magician evolved and went up to thirty-five hundred attack points. He had a full hand but not enough monsters to summon his god card. Eyeing his Monster Reborn card, he contemplated on sending Osiris to the graveyard and summon him from there... But he computed how much cards he was going to waste doing that and how much he could draw so the Magician didn't overpower his dragon. Too risky.

He set two cards face down and activated Bond Between Teacher and Student to get Dark Magician Girl on his field in defense mode and his Dark Magician followed suit. He needed the right timing to summon Osiris, but he also needed to stay with enough life points to actually pull it off. He was stuck and all he could do was end his turn there.

"You look flustered, your Highness," Yugi chuckled. "Strong defenses won't win you this duel."

"Cocky little bastard are we?"

"Like I'm the first cocky bastard you ever dueled," Yugi scoffed.

"Well you are the cutest and the one with the best ass out of all of them. You get points for that." Yami's smirk grew when he saw Yugi blush furiously at his words.

The smaller duelist narrowed his eyes. "If you think you can psyche me out with your flirting, then you're mistaken." His cheeks were still stained with his blush when he received a wink from his opponent as a reply. He pursed his lips in frustration and in his haste, he launched an attack against the Dark Magician only to trigger Yami's Spellbinding Circle trap card. "Ya ibn el sharmouta!" he hissed.

Yami couldn't help but laugh. "When you learned Arabic, did you learn the curses first?"

"Grandpa taught me... He curses a lot when he's on the phone calling Egypt. I try to curse in different languages so people won’t know what I’m saying." He set another card face down and ended his turn. "He taught me Greek too."

"Your intelligence is giving my brain a boner right now." Yami chuckled and put his plan into motion. He started his turn. Monster Reborn to bring back his Celtic Guardian, and with three monsters on his field, he summoned Osiris to the field. The red behemoth of a dragon appeared on the field with four thousand attack points, matching his opponent's magician point for point. As much as he'd want to keep Osiris for another round, he couldn't afford it. Drawing cards will only make Yugi's magician insanely stronger and Osiris will be useless, the Pot of Greed magic card he left on the field was absolutely useless. "Alright, Yugi, say goodbye to your Silent Magician. Go, Osiris! Thunderforce attack!"

Yugi smirked. "Sorry, Yami. But my magician's not going anywhere. Go Lightforce Sword!"

"Shit!" Yami exclaimed as he saw Yugi's set card reveal itself. He can't use his De-Spell that was in his hand, it'll diminish Osiris's attack power. He was stuck. And he was beginning to hate his Pot of Greed card more right now. Osiris's attack power reduced to three thousand and Yugi's magician was suddenly protected by a magical aura and bouncing Osiris’s fire back to him, destroying the godly dragon. The king of games was now reduced to seven hundred life points.

"It's a good thing this isn't televised. Or we might just have a new king right now."

Yami was too busy controlling himself from running towards his opponent to bend him over and have is way with him, to even listen to Yugi's teasing. The duel was so much of a turn on for him as Yugi sassed him around every turn. He set three cards face down and ended his turn. He wasn't going to go down without a fight, but winning wasn't his priority anymore right now.

On Yugi’s turn, he drew Pot of Greed and activated it to get two more cards. "Sorry, Yami, but I am not going to make any mistakes. I activate the magic card Giant Trunade and all of our magic and trap cards go back to our hand, setting my magician free from your Spellbinding Circle. Now that she’s free, she can attack you directly!"

As Yugi’s magician blasted her attack, Yami acted fast. He sent his Kuriboh to the graveyard to save himself. 

After the attack, Yugi rolled his eyes when he saw Yami’s lifepoints were left untouched. “Tozz feek,” he grumbled. The duel was supposed to be his.

Yami chuckled, “Now, Aibou, do you honestly think I was going to just let you win like that?”

Yugi rolled his eyes and activated a magic card. “I activate the field spell Secret Village of the Spellcasters.” 

Once the spell card was registered in the field spell slot, the arena started to shift. Twisted trees with bronze trunks and golden leaves started to materialize from the ground up. There were little round huts under the trees and the ceiling projected golden sun rays. The arena almost seemed like it was sparkling. 

“As long as I have a spellcaster on my side of the field, you can’t activate any magic cards,” Yugi explained proudly. He put one face down card and ended his turn.

Yami wanted to seriously whine like a baby right now. He wanted to do a legitimate temper tantrum pre-schooler style, complete with foot stomps and unnecessary finger pointing saying that it’s unfair. Because damn it, it was so unfair! This shitty little card, which he has been hunting for for a long time now, was in Yugi’s hand. Sexually and psychologically frustrated, he took his turn and prayed to any god that was still listening to actually give him something to work with. As he drew his card, he gave Yugi’s magician the snake eyes as she grew up a level. He looked down and sighed in relief. Osiris, the lord of the dead, was still listening to him. He drew his Call of the Haunted card and happily activated it.

“I activate my trap card Call of the Haunted to bring back Osiris!” he announced. It was perfect really. Currently, he had five cards in his hand, giving Osiris five thousand attack and defense points, more than enough to bring down Yugi and his Silent Magician in one attack. All he had to do was summon his god card successfully. He looked over at Yugi’s side of the field, and the local amateur duelist had a smirk on his face and his face down trap card revealed. Royal Decree. Its effect? All other trap cards are negated. Yami scowled, “Ayreh feek. This is so unfair.” That kind of language will have him grounded by his father for a two weeks for sure, along with that bitchy tantrum. He couldn’t remove the stupid trap because he’s not allowed to play any magic cards. He couldn’t remove the damn field spell, because,  _ again _ , he couldn’t play any magic cards. Now, all he could do was watch his Call of the Haunted card evaporate and sent to the graveyard. All he had were his Spellbinding Circle, which thanks to Yugi’s trap card is now useless, and a myriad of useless magic cards he couldn’t use. “Where the fuck did you get that stupid trap card?” he demanded playfully.

“It was Kisara’s gift for me during her trip in America, along with this nifty little field spell. Cool huh?” Yugi teased. His smile was so big and his giggles couldn’t be contained. This was it, the final hit. He made a mental note to treat Kisara the best chocolate cake in Domino for the cards she gave him. 

"Well done, Aibou. Come on, end this duel." Yami tried and he lost. Yugi got him trapped in a corner. It was invigorating though, if he was being honest. He was sporting a hard-on as he got dragged down by his date and he enjoyed it, despite losing.

Yugi giggled again and declared his attack, making him the winner when Yami's life points hit zero. The holograms disappeared, officially ending the duel. "Gods, Yami! That was so much fun!" he launched himself towards the other teen, after he put the duel disk back on the stand and his deck back in its case then wrapped his arms around him. 

Before he could stop himself, Yami's hands grabbed Yugi's ass and kissed the winner passionately.

Yugi's mind was spinning as Yami kissed him. After a few moments, he closed his eyes and kissed the boy back with just as much fervor. When they both pulled back, Yugi looked into the crimson orbs and saw that they were glazed over with lust.

"Fuck, Yugi. This duel just turned me on too much, it hurts. It's taking all the self control I have to not take you on this floor now... With security cameras around us." He groaned in the other's ear and ground his hips to prove his point.

"House. Now." Yugi gasped.

"Thank Ra!" Yami growled.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An extra long chapter just to give some hints of backstory for our beloved characters. I had to edit this one because I skipped like a LOT of potential scenes for them to just talk about each other, which is so unfair for you guys since I already planed out their personalities and likes and dislikes in my head. So yeah, this one took a long while to edit. This scene has already been written months ago too. LOL! Did I do their first date justice? I hope so. They have more dates to come and a lot can happen in one weekend.
> 
> How to Swear in Arabic 101  
> Kol khara - Eat shit  
> Ya ibn el sharmouta - Son of a bitch  
> Tozz feek - Screw you  
> Ayreh feek - Fuck you


	12. Stereotypical Teen Movie

“Care to explain to me why there’s a record in my database of you  _ losing _ ?” Seto hissed through the phone.

Yami groaned in reply, already regretting picking up this call from Seto. For security purposes, he always picked up calls from family, no matter what time of the day, being a light sleeper helps too. He opened his eyes and found himself naked in Yugi’s living room with the other teen on top of him sound asleep. “Can we please talk about this when you get back? I’m kinda busy right now.” his voice still husky and rough from sleep and his activities prior. They went a little too rough and a little too wild last night due to the adrenaline from their duel but neither of them really cared. Although, Yami could feel the pain on his lower back from their activities now. Damn, Yugi can be rough when he topped. He shifted in a more comfortable position on the couch, making sure to keep the bundle in his arms secure. Thankfully, his voice and his stirring didn’t wake the boy on top of him but he did note that the blanket they had was now at Yugi’s waist which was not good since Yugi might get another fever from it. Putting his phone between his ear and shoulder, he grabbed the blanket and covered Yugi’s naked back and made sure to caress him as well to rid of the cold.

“Did you deliberately lose to your boyfriend just to get laid, Yami Sennen?” Seto asked, and from his tone, he seemed to be gritting his teeth in frustration.

Yami rolled his eyes. “No. Yugi is actually a good duelist. It was my mistake to not use all three gods on him but I figured it would be unfair to use all three on him when he doesn’t even have one god in his deck. Why don’t you study the whole duel, Seto. You’ll see that he’s actually a good duelist.” At this rate, he’s already said enough sentences that going back to sleep was futile. “Seto, I would  _ really _ love to discuss your obsession with defeating me, but now is not the time. I had a long night last night celebrating my new relationship with my boyfriend by fucking each other’s brains out, and I would like to rest before we meet later. Bye bye now,” he said before hanging up his phone and putting it on silent. He also made sure to turn off the vibrate feature just in case Seto became persistent.

Yami threw his phone where his pants were then wrapped his arms around Yugi who snuggled closer if that was possible. Yami lowered his head so he could kiss Yugi’s temple before falling back to sleep.

It was three hours later when they eventually woke up. Yugi stirred and as he was about to get up, he felt two arms tighten around his waist keeping him in place. He looked down to see Yami holding onto his sleep as he kept him in place. “Yami,” he whined groggily. “We need to get up before Kisara comes back.”

“Thirty more minutes,” Yami groaned. “More than enough time for me to ravish my boyfriend and celebrate in our new relationship,” he chuckled before burying his nose in Yugi’s skin. “You smell amazing, even last night. I can’t get enough of it.”

Yugi shook his head and chuckled. “Kisara told me to use this lotion yesterday.” Yugi shivered when he felt a wet tongue caress his neck. “Yami,” he whined, although he wanted it to sound threatening. “You need to see your cousins this afternoon remember?” he said, his voice quaking. “I don’t want to be tagged as the clingy boyfriend who won’t let his partner see his own friends and family.”

Yami hummed in acknowledgement but when he felt Yugi was about to try and get up again, he used his legs and wrapped them around his boyfriend’s waist to keep him in place. “No,” he replied simply, keeping his eyes closed, a goofy smile on his face.

“You wanna play that way huh?” Yugi, with an evil smirk, proceeded to tickling the boy beneath him. 

“Yugi what are you-” he couldn’t finish his sentence when slender fingers started to poke his sides. He couldn’t stop the attack and all he could do was laugh and try to swat away Yugi’s hands at the same time. But it was a fruitless seeing as Yugi was already on top of him and the couch gave little wiggle room. “Stop!” Yami begged through his giggles. “Yugi, please, stop!”

“What’s the magic word, Yami?” Yugi teased.

“Time’s up, kiddies.”

The two teens froze at the familiar female voice of Kisara. They turned to the direction of the voice, and there she was in a simple grey shirt and denim shorts, overnight bag on her shoulder, her face with a smirk, while her eyes were at the ceiling. “Honestly, guys. This is  _ more _ than what I want to see from you.”

“Hey, Kisara. How was your trip at Tokyo?” Yugi greeted lamely. He felt like he was having a deja vu right now. Or at least a minor flashback from that morning that Kisara first met Yami.

“It’s ten in the morning,Yugi,” Kisara replied with a scoff, completely ignoring her brother’s question. “I brought bagels for everyone today,” she said as she started walking towards the stairs after dumping the food she bought on the dining table, her eyes still on the ceiling. “When I come back down, I expect you guys to be decent,” she scolded lightly.

“Yes, Kissy,” Yugi saluted before Kisara retreated to her bedroom.

“Look, as much as I love to spend this Sunday with you, I promised Kisara we’d hang out today. We’re going to beat some highscores on the arcade and raid the claw machines there. It’ll be fun,” he said excitedly as he put on his boxers.

Yami couldn’t help but chuckle at Yugi’s glee. “You know we can do that together right? I’m good with games too.”

“Yeah, but I haven’t seen my sister for almost 18 years plus the seven days she went to the States. I would like to spend time with her fun gamer side,” he said with a soft smile.

It was only then that Yami realized how much Yugi must be excited to get to know his sister more. It makes sense since he missed out on a big chunk of his life without his sister. Yami himself was an only child but he spent a lot of time with his cousins, as if they were his own brothers. Then again, Yugi had his friends. Internally Yami winced. Yugi grew up with Joey, Tristan, and Tea. Since he decided to win Yugi’s affections, his goal was to tear Yugi away from his friends so he would only have time for him. It wasn’t fair for him to take Yugi away from them. He had to remedy that some way, but right now, he can enjoy having Yugi all to himself.

Yami smiled and once he was fully clothed he went up to Yugi and kissed his lips sweetly. “Alright, Yugi. I’d like to see you again, though,” he said hopefully. Despite the fact that their date went well yesterday, he needed confirmation that Yugi did want to date him.

Giggling, Yugi nodded. “Most definitely. I’d love to go out on a date with my boyfriend again.” 

Yami couldn’t help his victorious smile as Yugi called him his boyfriend. He kissed Yugi and the forehead and the tip of his nose. “Get dressed.”

“Yes, sir,” Yugi replied with a salute and then a peck on Yami’s cheek.

_ Achievement Unlocked: Become Yugi’s boyfriend. _

The crimson-eyed teen couldn’t help himself, he grabbed his boyfriend by the ass and kissed him on the lips enthusiastically. He was proud of himself when a muffled giggle came from Yugi’s lips as his pale slender arms wrapped around his neck and his sexy thighs encircled his waist. They heard a thump and a grunt, not sure where that was coming from but the next thing they both knew was Yugi was now up against the wall. Yami could feel the heels of the Yugi pressing onto his ass, egging him to get closer. Slowly, oh so deliciously slowly, Yugi’s hand was sliding down Yami’s back and trying to reach his pants.

_ BONK! _

“Ow!” Yugi whined. He looked down to see a small plastic bottle of what seems to be a facial cleanser. Looking at the possible source of the little cockblocking projectile, Yugi saw Kisara already changed into more comfortable clothes with a little basket that contained a few of her other morning skin care routine.

“What did I say about you guys being decent?” she asked disapprovingly, but the amused smirk on her face removed any seriousness to her scolding.

Yami reluctantly let go of his burden since Yugi was already wiggling out of his grasp. Clearing his throat, Yami straightened his clothes and his hair before facing the older Mutou sibling. He lamely waved at Kisara who just chuckled and proceeded to go to the kitchen sink to start to wash her face.

“I have to go, Aibou. Bakura is not one who will wait for me. I told him to wait for me at my place at eleven-thirty.” Yami kissed Yugi’s temple and waved a good bye to Kisara before leaving.

Yugi looked over at his sister who was waving a small tub that read “Carbonated Bubble Clay Mask” at him. The male grimaced and walked slowly towards the sink for what he knew was going to be a very weird morning.

“Please tell me you didn’t have sex on my recliner,” Kisara eventually asked.

 

* * *

 

People can say that ever since Seto Kaiba took over Kaiba Corp, he rarely had any time for his family. While that was partially true, he did his best to prove people wrong. When it came to his family, he  _ needed  _ to prove people wrong. As per usual, he was sitting on the far end of his game room where a little work area was provided for him. His brother, Mokuba, was sprawled on the floor, laying on his stomach. His navy blue eyes glued to the screen of his laptop as he and his cousins played while Seto worked for a few minutes. Bakura took residence on the gaming desktop setup on the other side of the room. Marik had his laptop on the coffee table next to the drinks and snacks, while Yami sat across from Seto. They were playing Rocket League and the loudest players were positioned far away from Seto, while the only silent player, Yami, had the honor of sitting just a few feet from him.

Out of all of his cousins, Yami was Seto's rival in so many things. They were both problem solvers, fast learners, and ridiculously competitive. During game nights like this, Bakura and Marik refused to have Yami and Seto on the same side because the two were a force to be reckoned with when paired together. It was more fun to see them clash than see them work together and demolish the game. While they couldn't compete in academics for obvious reasons, and to him, competing in wealth was just downright pathetic, he and Yami competed in games. Because Yami was a fast learner, his mind goes into overdrive and he knew how to form a winning strategy on the fly. Kaiba's edge was that he never chooses a game he hasn't studied immensely yet. Anytime he and Yami played in a competition, he had already played every possible scenario and already had a winning strategy just on the first move. Through the years, Seto has learned to respect the gamer in Yami. He was a formidable and respectable opponent afterall.

While it was a custom for them to hang out every Sunday, the young CEO had a more pressing issue he needed to discuss with them. Usually, he would never tell Mokuba about it, nor would he tell his family when he himself wasn’t sure. But ever since Mokuba’s failed kidnapping attempt, he made a vow to always tell his family  _ everything _ when it came to potential threats. His initial plan was to talk to his uncles and aunt first before his cousins, but work was his obstacle. He figured since his only free time during the week was Sunday, he would tell his cousins first before their parents. All he had to do was wait for them to finish their round.

After sending  _ another _ email to the leader of his investigative team, Mokuba suddenly jumped for joy for their victory which made Seto and Yami jump ever so slightly. There was a reason that Mokuba always sat far away from Seto when playing games. As much as the brunet loved his little brother, he was not comfortable with his extroverted tendencies.

Once everyone had settled down, Seto spoke before Mokuba or any of his cousins initiated the next round. 

“Guys, I need to tell you something important.”

The four other boys in the room turned to Seto then nodded. All of them got up from their places around the game room to sit on their respective places on the couch area in front of the big TV. Yami took the recliner, Marik sat on the ottoman, Seto was on the far end of the big couch with Mokuba seated beside him and Bakura on the other end.

“I’ve been receiving some threatening emails lately and they’re quite unsettling,” Seto started. “I already have a team working on it. I just needed to tell you guys just so you could be on the lookout for anything suspicious.”

The three teens nodded. They understood what that would mean. Meanwhile, Mokuba had his lips pursed, his go-to expression when he was in deep thought. “But wait, big brother, what were the threats about?” 

“The messages seemed harmless enough. But then they would attach images of you guys leaving your homes or school, that’s where it gets serious.” They were dealing with some sort of stalker. He had studied the pictures himself and found no traceable information on them.

“Is that why you went to Tokyo yesterday?” Mokuba asked.

Seto nodded. “I had a third party security specialist look into it. I’m worried that those emails and pictures have a hidden virus somewhere. They already successfully sent them to my email with no problem at all.” Seto had a whitelist for the limited amount of people who could send an email to him. Anything else goes through his secretary.

“I’m surprised you went to Tokyo, you could’ve asked them to meet you here at Domino instead,” Yami commented.

“Well it makes sense since the bulk of our information security department is in Tokyo,” Mokuba answered before Seto could. “Are we doubling up security again?”

Seto nodded. “For everyone, actually. I’ll talk to your parents about it as well.” He said pointedly at his cousins. “Don’t worry, you won’t notice them.”

There was a knock on the door and then came in Roland, Seto’s right hand man. “Uhh...Mokuba-sama, Professor Gilroy is already here.”

“That’s your cue to leave, kiddo,” Seto nodded at his brother. Professor Gilroy was Mokuba’s Artificial Intelligence tutor. Although, he didn’t really need a tutor, Seto just needed someone to sign the paperwork to certify that Mokuba completed all the necessary requirements for him to accelerate to college at sixteen. The professor was posing as a Math teacher teaching college level Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, and Calculus. While Seto had the same treatment under their adoptive father’s guidance, he was mostly pressured to do better than his best. An experience likened to torture and child abuse. Now, since Mokuba was showing promise, Seto had to sit his brother down and ask the teen what he wanted before shoving tutors in his face. Mokuba chose to go attend primary school and take enough units in high school to go to college early, all the while still have a private tutor to actually stimulate his mind. He wanted to skip high school drama, a smart boy indeed.

Once Mokuba was out of the room, Seto ordered Roland to have their usual alcoholic drinks sent up to the game room, Bakura and Yami raided the little pantry cabinet for snacks, while Marik chose a game for them to play on the big screen. For this week, Seto has stocked their “Unofficial Alpha Testing” rack in the game room for the four of them to play. Kaiba Corp’s game development department had a number of games in the pipeline that were ready for testing and Seto’s cousins were his unofficial and unpaid alpha testers. They told him if the game sucked, was too simple, and most importantly, Seto had Yami test the whole game to see how long before people could beat it. Yami loved games, he loves beating them in record time too, and if a game could hook the currently reigning game king, then the product was destined to be great. Today, they had a fighting game with a survival edge to it.

“This seems promising,” Yami commented as he picked his character. “Fighting games are good, although based from experience, your developers can’t quite make a decent fighting game.”

As they waited for the loading screen, Seto casually studied his employees’ work. “True. But they insist on making these.” 

“Maybe you should put a ban on it,” Marik suggested.

The brunet CEO scoffed. “Yeah, and force my employees to work on projects they don’t like. There’s a term for that, Marik. It’s called slavery.”

“In fairness,” Yami interjected, “They’re good in making adventure games.” His eye twitched when Seto caught him in a corner, the medpack only at arm’s length. He made a deep breath and tried to calm himself.

Watching Seto and Yami fight in a game is always an absolute delight. While Seto hates having his brother beside him when the younger plays while he works, he wasn’t really any better when he was against Yami. The two had always been rivals. Put a game in front of them and they will fight over it like their own lives were on the line, when in reality it was only their egos on the line. Bakura and Marik watched in amusement as Seto gripped the controller with frustration when his character gets caught in one of Yami’s combos. And Seto had such a colorful language when it came to profanity. The whole world knows him as the cool and collective Seto Kaiba, CEO of Kaiba Corporation, but in the gameroom, Seto had zero chill.

“Are you fucking kidding me with that shit!” The brunet seethed as his character got downed yet again. “Get up, you third rate piece of shit!”

On the other end, Yami was silent...except when he wants to be cocky. His eyes were always zeroed in on the screen, calculating his moves and studying how his opponent moves. Seto, despite his big and loud personality while playing was actually good at games, and the more frustrated he got, it seems that the tougher of an opponent he is. So Yami kept his cool and bit his tongue when it came to fighting against his eldest cousin. But, of course, he was related to his cousins so…

“Doesn’t that make you a piece of shit too, Seto?” he teased. “A  _ third-rate _ piece of shit  at that.” Yami kept his composure on the recliner.The more relaxed and composed he was the more it annoyed Seto. He stuck his tongue out in concentration as he did another combo he magically discovered through his go-to tactic of button smashing.

“Sheesh, you guys really get intense. Hey, Yami, should we ask Yugi if you’re this intense in bed too?” Marik joked. “If you are, then that would mean Seto must be that intense too...if he ever got around to getting laid.” The platinum blond chuckled.

“SHUT THE FUCK UP, MARIK!” the two players replied in unison. They were both now standing up as they try to size one up. Both of them were only at less than twenty-five percent health. Their characters were now trying to move backwards to give themselves as much space from each other as possible.

Bakura lounged on the one-seater as he grabbed a bag of honey butter-flavored chips. “They act like twins more than our parents,” he scoffed amusingly. He looked over at the game, watching the characters try to kill each other and find resources to heal themselves or power themselves up. There were items all over the map they could use, so aside from their characters’ skills in fighting, they could pick up guns and shields and other power-ups. But for some reason, the items have stopped spawning. No more medkits, no more guns, no more ammos spawning all over the map. 

Marik had already stepped away from Seto and Yami, knowing full well that they tend to get animated when in an intense battle. It didn’t matter what game the two were playing. They could be playing something as boring as Word Factory and the two would still be throwing shit at each other. “As much as I love watching you guys get at each other’s throats, but this game is kinda boring,” he said lazily. “It’s a fighting game with power-ups. We’ve seen millions of this before.”

“Not now, Marik,” Seto said as he kicked his cousin lightly.

The pressure is on as Yami started to tap his right foot in excitement while Seto’s grip on the controller just tightened, his knuckles turning white in frustration. “Don’t pop a vein there, cousin,” Yami chuckled. Only a few more hits and Seto was done for...all he needed to do was get Seto in a corner and…

“NO!” Seto growled through gritted teeth as his character falls slowly on his back from being knocked out on Yami’s final blow.

Bakura and Marik ignored the mini celebration and mini hissy fits from Yami and Seto respectively. Bakura got Yami’s controller while Marik picked up Seto that was on the ground after Seto immaturely let it go when the character selection screen went on. It was now their turn to play.

If Yami and Seto were amusing to watch, Bakura and Marik were a whole new level. They weren’t even allowed to sit right next to each other in case projectiles started flying. 

“Marik’s right, Seto,” Yami commented as he got a handful of popcorn. “Fighting games are a dime a dozen. While the ‘survival’ aspect of it makes it different, and yeah it is exciting to beat you at it, but it’s not as exciting if you think really hard about it.”

Seto was finally seated on the couch sipping at his bourbon, doing his best to recollect himself over the damned game. Yeah, he’s stopping this game first thing tomorrow morning. “Noted. The first impressions seemed promising with the first batch of official alpha testers.”

“No shit. It’s a fighting game. It always makes things super intense. I mean look at Bakura and Marik over here vibrating with excitement as they try to kill each other with knives.”

“Did you guys present your computer and history project last Friday?” Yami asked. Since he and Yugi were stuck in the guidance counselor’s office all day, they weren’t able to present their projects that were due that day. Passing them was the day before on 11:59 PM via email, but they needed to present them. They tried to go to the faculty office, but teachers just love to leave school early just as much as students do.

“Speaking of school,” Seto started, “Why do you have a photo of you and Mutou making out plastered on the school’s website?” he asked disapprovingly. The whole round was now off his mind as he remembered the events that occured the last few days. He couldn’t help but be the big brother figure in their little group, his CEO title and three-year age gap didn’t help the situation. But he did try to level with them in some way. Today was an exception.

Yami rolled his eyes, not even bothering to look at his cousin. “How did  _ you _ even know about that?” He still couldn’t believe that Seto actually called the guidance counselor to tear her ear out for the photo.

“Marik sent me screenshot. He thought I’d get a kick out of it,” Seto replied.

“Also, to answer your original question, yes we did. We got a fucking seventy-five on our computer project, and an eighty in history. Riviera-sensei is a perfectionist asshole,” Marik muttered with an annoyed pout. “How the hell were we supposed to know that a fucking security check was needed on that stupid thing?! It wasn’t even written on the damn requirements!”

Yami sighed in relief. At least the copy they passed to Riviera-sensei had a security feature, as per Kisara’s orders saying “I don’t give a flying fuck if it’s too complicated to do for you. I will not have my own brother create a site without even a simple security function!” She took her site development seriously, which he understood since it was her expertise after all. She kind of reminds him of Seto a bit when it came to work. She was a workaholic and did not allow half-assed work. She always gives five hundred percent in work, expects her employees to do the same, and will not accept anything less. 

“So, Yami, your boyfriend obviously has you wrapped around his little finger,” Seto commented with a smirk. “You even let him win in a duel.”

“WHAT?!” Marik and Bakura exclaimed. “NO!” While they may not be twins, whatever twin gene their parents had must have been passed down to them.

“Has the King of Games been officially dethroned?” Marik asked with a laugh. “Oh man, what the hell happened? Were you guys doing strip dueling or something?”

Seto’s face twisted in a disgusted expression. “Please tell me you guys weren’t stripping in  _ my _ arena. Someone has to watch that fucking footage. I will not subject my employees to that. Also, it takes a lot of time, effort, and money to sanitize that place.”

“Oh gods! You were stripping in Seto’s private arena? Talk about marking your territory,” Bakura laughed. 

“Oh my fucking Ra! WE WERE NOT STRIPPING!” Yami eventually bellowed. “Also, please stop saying stripping. We weren’t okay?” His body recoiled away from his cousins naturally at the very inappropriate topic they were having. “Yugi is actually a good duelist. He’s good at games. He lives in a fucking game shop, for crying out loud.”

“Huh…” Seto said, his face was blank but his eyes had an amused smirk in them. “Who knew you’d be taken down by a local amateur.”

Yami narrowed his eyes, “You looked at his duelist file didn’t you?”

The young CEO scoffed, “It’s not like  _ you _ didn’t do it as well.” He didn’t want to admit it, but he was intrigued when he opened up Yugi Mutou’s duelist’s info. No loses. Even Yami lost to Pegasus at a timed duel. Sure, Yami could have won had he declared his attack, but his fifteen minutes were up and he lost, that was the rule, whoever had the most life points at the end of the timer wins. Seto wondered what it would be like had Yugi joined a big tournament. 

"Okay, wait!" Marik eventually interjected. "We're forgetting a very crucial point here today." He stood up after pausing the game which irked Bakura since it was obvious that Marik was about to lose and he was only delaying the inevitable. "We'll reset later," Marik assured his white-haired cousin who only gave him the finger in reply. "Have we forgotten the Grand Consequence?"

And with that, Yami tensed in his seat.

Well shit. He certainly forgot about that.

After the Battle City tournament here in Domino, a tournament Yami had to ask Yugi about since it was odd that Yugi didn't participate in, Seto sponsored a very expensive drinking session for his cousins to celebrate Yami's victory. And during the victor's drunken haze, he made a deal with his cousins and called it The Grand Consequence. The deal was, the first time he loses to someone in a legitimate duel, he will serve his cousins and the person that beat him for three months. Knowing his cousins, and Seto's pettiness that was similar to his own, they wrote up a whole document for it that even had his own signature. The next day, Yami was called to Seto's mansion to read the document they messily wrote up wherein it contained his cousins' demands. He could have demanded to tear the damn document to shreds. He had every right to since he wasn't even coherent when he signed the damned thing. But due to his pride and ego, another thing he had in common with Seto, he accepted the terms but with a few conditions. He had to protect himself after all. The demands were edited to avoid having to do ridiculous requests like buy them luxury items or wear a maid's outfit to school when they were feeling creative. The Grand Consequence will be in effect whether the duel was an official tournament duel or not, as long as Yami agrees it was a legitimate one.

And now the time has officially come.

After munching on a handful of buttered popcorn and finishing his glass of bourbon, Seto stood up and went to a locked cabinet in the game room where one of the many safes he owns was in. Inputting the code, he opened the safe to pull out a plastic envelope containing the written contract of the Grand Consequence. He walked back to their little group and set the envelope on the coffee table. "Today marks the day that Atem Yami Sennen has to officially follow The Grand Consequence," Seto announced with so much pride and ego that Yami had to wince. Taking out his pen, Seto wrote the current date and time and passed the paper to Marik. "I'll let these two write their demands first before I put down mine."

"Ooh! This should be fun!" Marik's eyes twinkled in amusement. He read the paper that stated all the favors they were not allowed to ask."Favors that are against the constitution and are against human rights are prohibited. So we're not allowed to ask you to kill every single person that breathed the same air as me wrongly, okay. No sexual favors, consensual or otherwise. So we can't pimp you out. Favors that will damage your dueling reputation is also not allowed so we can't force you to lose an important duel just for our enjoyment." He then pouted. The list goes on, mostly for Yami's sake. It didn't really matter, since he already had his condition in mind. It was actually saved in his phone, triple checked by Seto for loopholes and was ready for writing. "Okay, for my consequence for Yami for losing to his beloved boyfriend is that he will serve as my family's maid for the whole three months he has to do the Grand Consequence."

"Wait a minute!" Yami interjected. "It's part of the list that I am not to apply for a job."

"Yeah, well you're not applying for a legitimate one anyways," Marik sneered. "You'll just help my mom with the house since she's pregnant and all. You'll be in charge with cleaning the living room, dining room, walking the dogs, yes I said dogs, Yami. All three of them. You'll also do my laundry, fold my clothes, clean the toilets, and wash the dishes when it's my shift to wash them." He was about to write his demands on the form when he was stopped yet again by Yami.

"It's also part of the condition that the consequences should not hinder my own studies. Father won't approve."

Rolling his eyes, he waved his cousin off. "First of all, my place is just two blocks away from yours so you're not really going home late to do the chores. Laundry day is every Sunday, and the only chores you're going to do are most likely mine since mom won't allow me to overwork your ass. Also, it's not like our house is a mansion like Seto's. You'll be fine. Now let me write my demands on this form so Bakura can write his." 

Yami pouted as he watched Marik write the ridiculous but somehow tame request. He thought Marik was going to force him to do all of his homework or something. Doing extra chores was fine.

"There," Marik said. "And I even stated that you are not allowed to do the consequence on Fridays and during the first and third Saturday of the month. So at least you have Fridays and Saturdays for your date because I'm such a loving cousin that way." Marik winked then smirked evilly at Yami before passing the pen and forms to Bakura.

"Heh, my consequence is tame too," Bakura said with a smirk. "You, my beloved cousin, will be forced to get your driver's license in two weeks and once you have your license, you will be the one picking little Irina up and dropping her off to ballet class. And drive my family to and from our weekly family outings." He didn't even bother to wait for Yami to intervene. It was now written on the form and so it shall be done. At Yami's glare, Bakura scoffed. "Don't give me that look. You already have your student's permit. All you have to do is take the damn test, pass and get your license. I'll even provide the car." Irina's ballet class was every Wednesdays and Saturdays and his family always hung out together at the mall every Sunday. It wasn't that bad. It wasn't that hard to do. "Two weeks to get your license Yami. If you miss it, you know the punishment."

Yami groaned. Failure to comply meant an additional month of consequence on top of the three months he already had to fulfill. Defeated, he waved it off. Bakura and Marik could do worse. They obviously just turned him into their own slave to do menial house work and chauffeur their family around. He narrowed his eyes at Seto who didn't bother to hide his amusement over Yami's unfortunate situation. "Alright, lay it on me. What's your creative consequence for me?"

"My demands are simple. You, dear cousin, shall be wearing a maid's costume every Sunday when the four of us play here in the game room and will serve the drinks and food. Also, you are to make sure the person who beat you, ie your boyfriend, must join us every Sunday. You will have to convince him to join us personally here yourself, of course."

"WHAT?!" Yami screeched. "FUCK NO, SETO KAIBA! I WILL NOT BE THE ONE TO TURN YOUR MAID CAFE FANTASY TO LIFE!"

Yami was too enraged with the demand that he missed Seto writing his demands down on the form. "So let it be written. So let it be done," Seto announced with a smirk.

Bakura and Marik had to hold Yami back from tearing the copy of the form to shreds, all the while laughing their heads off at the very unexpected demand their eldest cousin had. Leave it to Seto to be the creative one.

"Calm down, Yami. You'll only wear the thing on Sundays and in the privacy of my gameroom. It's still under the regulations we all put down for you. Besides, Yugi might get a kick out of you in a maid's outfit," Seto explained with a ridiculous grin on his face. "Now, all you have to do is sign all three demands and the final print on the bottom of the agreement stating that you agree to all the terms written down." He offered the pen towards his hesitant cousin with a victorious smirk. 

Taking the pen, Yami grumbled as he looked over the paper that stated his hell for the next three months. He was about to sign when Marik stopped him.

“Wait! You need to call your boyfriend first since he needs to be informed of your little consequence and he also needs to sign this document before everything starts.” Marik waved the contract teasingly.

Rolling his eyes, he took the contract from his cousins hands. “Yugi’s busy right now. I’m not calling him now.”

Bakura waved his cousin dismissively. “Fine, I’ll call him.” He took out a phone from his pocket and typed the name he needs.

Yami scoffed. “You don’t have his number.”

“No,” Bakura agreed as he put the phone on his ear. “But this is not  _ my _ phone,” he teased with a smirk. His eyes went wide when Yami suddenly rose from his seat to charge at him. Yami may be stronger, but Bakura was faster and more agile. Also Marik was able to wrap his arms around Yami’s waist to keep him restrained. Chuckling darkly, Bakura turned the phone on loudspeaker while Yami was now restrained in Marik’s arms while Seto silenced him with his hand. After a few more rings, Yugi eventually answered.

“Hello? Can I call you back? I’m trying to beat this punk in Tekken. Yeah! I call you a punk, you punk! You and your long list of boyfriends with you!” Yugi yelled at someone. There were different noises and voices in the background that told the people on the other line that he was in an arcade.

“Yo, Mutou. This is Bakura, your boyfriend’s favorite cousin,” the white-haired teen greeted. “We need to talk to you real quick. It’s important. Your-boyfriend’s-future important.”

“Fuck,” Yugi whined. “Give me a minute, I’m almost done.” There were clicking noises and some cussing either from Yugi or from another, probably his opponent. “Ha! Suck it!” He was still ignoring the person on the other line. “Take over for me will ya?” After a few more moments, Yugi eventually went back to the phonecall. “Bakura? What is it? And why do you have Yami’s phone? Is Yami restrained right now and you’re calling me for a dare or something?”

Bakura chuckled. “Something like that. I heard you beat the King of Games yesterday.”

“Piece of cake,” the other teen scoffed at the other line. “What about it?”

“This guy is cocky like you, I like him already,” Seto chuckled.

Ignoring Seto, Bakura went back to his original seat, phone still in hand. “Well, you see, you beating my talented and arrogant cousin has made him into our personal servant and we’re willing to share the perks with you if you’re interested.”

There was a low evil chuckle that came from the other line, and Yami had to control himself to not have a boner at that moment. It was that same chuckle he heard the night before when Yugi was driving himself into–

Yami  _ seriously _ needed to stop thinking about it. He was still squished between Seto and Marik, with the latter still restraining him while Bakura explained to Yugi how the deal worked.

“So, basically, I can make Yami do whatever I want?” Yugi asked after Bakura finished explaining.

“Well, not everything. It still needs to be within reason. No sexual favors though. But then again, maybe we can make an exception with you since you’re already doing him,” Bakura replied casually as he draped his legs on the arm rest, wiggling his eyebrows at Yami. 

“Oh it’s within reason,” Yugi chirped. “I want Yami to wear anything I tell him to wear.”

Bakura’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, but then a sinister smirk graced his face as realization hit him. “That’s it? I mean Seto over here asked Yami to dress in a maid’s outfit.”

“Don’t give him suggestions!” Yami argued when Seto let him go. But his cousin’s hand returned to clamp his mouth shut again.

“Shh. We’re just making sure he knows his perks,” Seto teased. “Now be a good sport and receive your punishment.”

“Yep,” Yugi finally answered. “Look, Yami already needs some fashion advice considering he buttons his uniform all the way up like an uptight posh shithead. Ryou can pull it off, but not him. Yami has a lot of potential. I mean, have you  _ seen _ Yami in a dressy outfit? He looks hot and–”

“No need for the specifics, Mutou,” Marik called out.

“Right,” Yugi giggled. “Anyways, is that all? I’m kinda busy. There’s a group of punk ass kids who thought I was Yami and now they want to duel.”

“We’ll let you go, I’m just writing your demands on our document and we’ll let Yami give you a copy. He needs to sign this and it’ll last for three months. I do hope you enjoy this once in a lifetime opportunity.” Bakura gave the document over to Seto who immediately scanned them with his phone.

When the phone call was over, Marik let his cousin go and Yami launched himself at Bakura to grab his phone back. “How did you even get this? You were sitting across from me.” He looked at his phone and contemplated on changing his password  _ again _ . Who has he kidding? Bakura didn’t need to go to college to be successful. He could live off being a cat burglar or stealing trade secrets from big companies.

Seto threw the pen at Yami’s direction. “Just sign the damn thing already. You brought this upon yourself when you got too cocky for your own good.” The brunet smiled smugly as Yami signed his name after every demand that was written on the document then threw the pen at Seto as his own form of petty revenge. After Seto scanned the documents with his phone, he placed the original back in his safe. He was going to create copies of those later. But now, there were other pressing matters to discuss. “You’re dating him now?” He didn’t need to elaborate himself. Yami understood.

“We already had this conversation, Seto. You guys need to let me handle this,” Yami said, his eyes still trained on the screen. “But, yes, he is officially my boyfriend. So stop asking me like some girl in a stereotypical teen movie.”

“I’m not even saying anything,” Seto argued. “I was asking a valid question.” He took a swig at his bourbon and rolled his eyes. He then took a handful of buttered popcorn from the bowl beside him. “What made him change his mind?”

Yami almost said that Yugi’s sister practically vouched for him, but he forgot that Kisara’s existence was still a family secret the Mutous were not comfortable with sharing yet. Instead, he merely shrugged. “Natural charm?” he joked.

“Whatever it was, it was enough for Yugi to turn down Tea. Man, that was rough,” Marik commented.

Oh how Yami wished Mana was with them right now to scold Marik for saying inappropriate things like that. She was the only one, aside from Malik and Marik’s parents, that could scold the platinum blonde and have him listen.

“You took Yugi away from his friends?” Seto asked with chuckle. “Now what type of boyfriend would you be in a stereotypical teen movie?” he said with a mocking tone.

Bakura and Marik couldn’t help but laugh and give suggestions.

“The bad influence boyfriend who won’t allow his lover to see their friends.”

“The antagonist that the main character will date first before he realizes that his true love was right in front of him all along.”

“The overly protective boyfriend that the protagonist will focus on and leave his friends until he realized that his boyfriend is not worth leaving his friends for.”

“Very funny,” Yami muttered. “I expected Marik to watch a lot of chick flicks, Bakura. But I didn’t know you watch them too.”

The white-haired teen shrugged. “I was forced by my parents to accompany Irina to watch them. And I mean  _ all  _ of them, Mr. Overly-Attached Boyfriend.”

Crimson eyes turned to a set of icey-blue ones. “And you? What’s your excuse?”

“Mokuba watches them on the TV in my office for fun,” the CEO replied. “Don’t believe me? Ask him, Mr. Antagonist.”

Yami didn’t really let the teasing get to him, but it was still annoying. “I’m surprised you’re okay with me dating Yugi. I thought you didn’t like him?” he finally said to his eldest cousin.

“I didn’t say that I didn’t like him. I’m sure he’s a nice guy with a bit of damage just like the rest of the world. It’s the way your relationship started that has me concerned.” He grabbed the controller from Marik after the round was over. “You’re setting yourself up for a world of hurt if he doesn’t feel the same way.”

Scoffing, Bakura said “You sound like you’re speaking from experience.”

It was supposed to be a joke. Bakura meant it as a joke, but Seto’s silence meant otherwise. The three teens stared at their eldest cousin suspiciously. Slowly, their faces twisted into an amused smirk. When Seto eventually looked at his cousins, his scowl just made the three boys’ smiles evolve into a that of Cheshire cat’s. Seto merely rolled his eyes. “What?” he asked with an unamused scowl.

“So… Who was it?” Marik asked.

“Who was what? What? You think some make believe girl broke my heart?” He made it sound like it was the most ridiculous thing in the world. Because really it is.

The three teens just chuckled. “Well it makes sense,” Bakura said. “I mean, in a ‘Stereotypical Teen Movie’ you’d be the bitter single old man who doesn’t believe in love and thinks all loves are doomed to fail because there was one girl who broke your heart beyond repair.”

“How poetic of you,” Seto snided.

“I think the gentleman doth protests too much,” Marik teased.

Rolling his eyes again, Seto just huffed, not even going to dignify Marik’s comment with a response.

The three eventually quit with the smiles. It was obvious that Seto wasn’t going to play along, and his lack of awkwardness made the joke useless.

“You’re no fun,” Marik muttered before going back to the game.

“Going back to the topic,” Seto urged as the round ended. He passed the controller to Bakura while Yami passed his to Marik. “You do know that you’re doing something wrong if you’re taking your boyfriend away from his best friends, who, mind you, have been there for him longer than you’ve known him. You’re not only setting yourself up for a world of hurt, you’re guaranteeing it by not doing anything about the tension you caused between Yugi and his friends.”

No one in the room spoke. Seto had a point. A very serious one. Crossing his arms on his chest, his eyes glued to the big screen TV, Yami grimaced. Where was he going to start exactly? But one thing was clear:

_ Next Goal: Get Yugi’s friends to like me. _

 

* * *

 

“Hey, Yami. You’re looking extra sexy today.” Duke Devlin took the empty space beside Yami that was supposed to be occupied by Yugi. The green-eyed transfer student had his back against the table, his face towards Yami. When the darker teen didn’t acknowledge him, he ran his index finger against Yami’s arm then poked his cheek. “Where’s your boyfriend? He called in sick today?”

The other occupants of the table, except for Bakura who was slightly amused, had confused expressions on their faces. Duke was annoying, but Yugi was his usual target. He wasn’t stupid enough to try and antagonize the crimson-eyed teen. So what was his deal?

“What do you want, Devlin?” Yami asked carefully, his eyes still on his food. Yugi had called in sick today since Kisara took him to the beach before going home soaked. It was a recipe for disaster that had Yami rolling his eyes. Of course, Yami conveyed his annoyance towards Kisara through text and as a peace offering, the older Mutou sibling sent a photo of Yugi sound asleep curled up on his bed wearing a fucking Dark Magician onesie of all things. Apparently, he won that from the tickets they collected last Sunday. She also gave him a picture of Yugi’s wet half naked form lying down on the sand under the heat of the sun which was now burned into his memory. It was an image she took from their trip at the beach. The image was a great peace offering that he forgave Kisara immediately. Also, the two photos were now his lock screen and home screen respectively. Now, Yami had to deal with Duke Devlin without Yugi. The amethyst-eyed teen knew how to throw a good punch when triggered on a special day, a skill he learned from Joey and Tristan. Yami wished he had that ability as well. Why couldn’t he get  _ that _ trait from his cousins?

The transfer student twirled one of his raven tendrils with his fingers. “Well, I’m here to comfort and mend your broken heart, my dear Yami,” he cooed as he inched his face closer.

Yami furrowed his eyebrows and tried to move his body away from Duke’s, “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Yugi, of course. He’s cheating on you with some hot chick. Guess he’s not gay, after all. He’s bisexual from the looks of it.” Duke said nonchalantly as he looked through his phone.

Yami almost choked on his water at Duke’s words. He covered his mouth and tried to regain his composure but his body was shaking. He rested his forehead on the edge of the table as groaned internally.

_ Fucking Ra… Why must you do this to me, Yugi? _

The other teens around the table were bug-eyed at the news. Bakura and Marik suddenly glared at the green-eyed boy.

“What’s your proof?!” Mana jumped up from her seat on the table.

Duke just smirked at her and showed the little album he had created. The album was filled with pictures of Yugi and and a girl with silvery white hair and dazzling blue eyes who apparently looked like they were on a date. There was a picture of them holding hands at the arcade. A picture of the girl kissing Yugi on his cheek. Another picture showed Yugi pecking the girl’s cheek. And another picture showed Yugi’s arms around the white-haired girl as they rode a motorcycle. Mana swiped through the pictures while the others looked over her shoulder. Yugi was on a date with a girl and the pictures showed that he had wrapped his arms around the girl and held her hand multiple times. Meanwhile, Yami still had his forehead against the table and shaking his head.

“Pretty huh? I looked her up. Yugi’s got a sugar mommy. Her name is Kisara Van Bryce. A college dropout genius who was adopted by two famous musicians. She’s filthy rich. She’s got like what, five companies under her name? She’s quite the catch. Yugi sure knows how to pick ‘em.” Duke flipped his hair then rested his chin on the palm of his hand as he smirked at Yami’s direction.

“This means nothing, Duke. You know that!” Mana almost threw the little gadget at its owner. “This could mean a thousand things, Yami. You know Yugi would never cheat on you,” she said as she looked at her trembling friend.

Despite his frustrations over the situation, Yami couldn’t take it anymore, he looked up from the table and laughed hard. There were tears in his eyes as he laughed at everything that was happening around him. The look on the others’ faces started another laughing fit for the teen. He must’ve looked like a crazy person in front of them. When his laughing fit ended, he grabbed Duke’s phone and took his own out from his pocket and started transferring the photos. “These are really good, Devlin. You should be a professional photographer when your little game goes down the drain,” he said with a smirk on his face. “Since you took these pictures without the subjects’ consents, you wouldn’t mind if I got a copy of them and delete yours right?” He asked as he proceeded with deleting Duke’s copies of the photos.

“What the hell?!” Duke yelled as he was thrown his phone at him for the second time.

“The photos are really good,” Yami said coolly, “I’m contemplating on whether I should just send them to Yugi now or print them and give them as a gift on our next date.”

“You’re going to send those pictures as a gift to your cheating boyfriend?” Duke had a confused and frustrated expression on his face as he eyed the crimson-eyed teen. 

“Maybe I’ll just print them.” Yami said, ignoring Duke’s question. He chose one picture and zoomed in on Yugi’s female companion then showed it to the people on the table. “She likes to collect pictures of them together. Quite the sentimental girl. She has like a corkboard full of them. Kisara’s got a tough exterior but she’s a big softy inside.”

Mana blinked. “You know her?”

“Of course I do. Why wouldn’t I know my boyfriend’s own  _ sister _ ?” He emphasized the last word as he looked at Duke with a smirk. Yugi was going to kill him for this. He knew that the subject of Kisara was still a secret within the Mutou, and here he was blabbering about it. Then again, what choice did he have? Hopefully, Yugi wouldn’t be too pissed at him.

Duke scoffed, “Pfft! Please! Yugi doesn’t have a sister. Even his own  _ friends _ don’t recognize the chick.” He pointed his thumb at Yugi’s old table where Tea, Joey and Tristan were sitting. “Hell, even Ryou doesn’t recognize her,” he motioned at the perplexed expression on said white-haired teen.

“Why do you claim to know my own boyfriend better than me?” Yami crossed arms on his chest and raised an eyebrow. “Yugi only found out about his own sister this year. He hasn’t told anyone but me. Why he hasn’t told anyone else? I have no fucking clue,” he shrugged. 

“How about those sweet kisses on the cheeks huh? Do you think those are the types that siblings give one another? Explain that!” he asked haughtily.

Rolling his eyes, Yami seriously wanted to punch Duke, but he couldn’t. Yugi would be furious at him if he did. Good thing he  _ could _ explain those sweet pecks on the cheeks. “What? Don’t  _ you _ kiss your mother on the cheek? Kisara is a sweet girl, and so is her brother. They’re pretty close now. It’s a  _ normal _ thing to do between siblings.” He turned to Bakura, “How many times has Irina kissed you on the cheek?”

Bakura smirked, “Before or after I told her I was dating Ryou?”

Yami couldn’t help his undignified snort as he remembered that story. “Just answer the question.”

“She kisses me on the cheek every time I leave for school and when I pick her up from ballet class. It’s a normal thing. Even I kiss her on the cheek.” Bakura looked at Duke, “Nothing wrong with showing affection towards your siblings. Especially when we’re very overprotective of them.”

“ _ You _ on the other hand,” Yami said as he looked pointedly at Duke, “better be careful. Kisara isn’t so merciful to Yugi’s tormentors, let alone his stalkers. Now, if you don’t have anything useful to say or do here, I suggest you get your ass out of that seat and leave our table.” He rested his cheek on his fist and crossed his legs as he shooed Duke off their table. With his free hand, he started typing a message to Yugi telling him about what just happened. He went a little out of line by telling everyone about his sister when he wasn’t even sure that Yugi wanted to tell people about her yet. Once the message was successfully sent, he turned to his friends. “What?”

“Dude, Yugi’s sister is hot!” Mana exclaimed which earned her a few questioning looks from the boys at the table. “What? It’s true!”

The whole table just laughed.

Yami felt his phone vibrate and read Yugi’s reply. He chuckled at the sarcastic tone of the first few sentences.

**_‘You should’ve taken a picture, I would’ve wanted to see the dumb look on his face when you laughed at him.’_ **

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY I HAD THIS CHAPTER POSTED! Sorry for not posting so soon, work and personal life just consumed my soul...and I've been binge-reading other puzzleshipping fics and binge-watching YGOTAS just because. 
> 
> Yes, Yami losing to a duel still has some dire consequences, because this is still a world where Duel Monsters is such a big game LOL! Now we get to have a Yami in a maid's outfit thanks to Mr. Seto Kaiba. If only Bakura and Marik were creative enough to give Yami a costume for their demands. The "posh shithead" comment is something I got from LittleKuriboh's reviews on YGO GX. I couldn't help but use it, along with the "Natural charm?" which was Yugi's line from the Grand Championship arc in the anime. Fun fact: I was reading Yugi's character design and apparently his designed was inspired by Edward Scissorhands...so I used it as a little nugget for this fic.
> 
> Also, what do you think Yami should do to win Yugi's friends over? He's not exactly in the best position to do that right now. 
> 
> As always, please comment what you guys think and things you guys are expecting to happen. I will try to post more frequent, keyword TRY.


	13. Needs, Wants, and Cravings

**_‘I need dating and fashion advice from my best girl. You have time to go to the mall with me after class?’_ **

Yami sent the text to Mana. His female best friend was currently in class, and if she wasn’t, he was sure that she would have flown all the way to the library to say yes.

"Hey, Yami."

The named turned around and was surprised to see a tame Tristan standing behind him. Yami was currently working on his book report for his English class. Ryou was supposed to accompany him but he was busy getting lost between the shelves for the book that he wanted to do a report on. So he was alone on one of the tables on the other side of the library where the door was. A corner the students never bothered to go to since no one really goes to the library anymore. Yami liked the isolation, especially now that he and Yugi dating was now a hot topic in school. The resurgence of the stupid Facebook page "Domino Secret Files" didn't help the situation. He figured one of Yugi's old friends would come up to him and confront him about the whole dating thing, but he always imagined it to be Tea or Joey and being cornered by them while Yugi was out of commission.

Yami must've looked distressed or nervous that Tristan put his hands up. "I come in peace," he promised. "I just wanted to talk to you, if that's okay."

The red-eyed teen nodded at the empty seat closest to Tristan and sat up a little straighter than before. "What do you want to talk about?" he asked carefully.

Tristan scratched the back of his head. "This may be a stupid question, but... Are you and Yugi dating now?"

Yes, it was a stupid question, but Yami didn't really need to say that. Tristan is one of Yugi's best friends, and he didn't want Yugi to have to choose between him and them. "Yeah, we are."

"How long?"

Did he dare say that they only started dating last Saturday? The timing was just off given the chaos that happened the week before. "Just recently," he replied. Vague but true. "Look, I don't-"

"No, Yami, it's fine," Tristan reassured with a smile. "I'm not here to tell you that I'm against you and Yugi dating. I just...wanted to get to know you, that's all." He chuckled nervously. It was those damn red eyes that looked so creepy and intimidating. Sure, Yami was a foot shorter than him, but the way the crimson-eyed Egyptian carried himself, he had an air to him that made him seem taller than he looked. "I want to say that Joey and Tea are a bit...off with you dating Yugi, but that would be an understatement. They are both firm believers that Yugi and Tea would end up together in the end."

Playing a lot of card games and dealing with Seto Kaiba has prompted Yami to develop a good poker face. He nodded curtly at Tristan's blabbing with a straight face, while deep inside he wanted to cringe. Oh he fucked up big time with his timing of asking Yugi out.

Sensing Yami's discomfort, Tristan babbled again. "Sorry! I didn't mean...I mean...I don't feel the same...I mean, yeah, it would have been great for Yugi and Tea to get together, but you're not half bad too. I-" He caught himself before he continued with the word vomit. "What I'm trying to say is that, Yugi was always the wild card. You'll expect him to do one thing, but then he would do something completely different from it. So yeah, I guess I already suspected that he would be interested in someone else and not end up with Tea. And now, we all have to deal with his decisions, and I'm trying to be the mature one in the group."

Yami couldn't help but chuckle. His shoulders relaxed somewhat, and he leaned forward on the table, resting his elbows on it. "Why are you here, Tristan?" His voice was more amused than annoyed. He was thankful that he didn't have to deal with a hostile friend.

"How long have you and Yugi been hanging out?" Tristan asked.

The other teen shrugged, "Months? I guess since the start of senior year. We never really hang out together in public, but we got to know each other well."

"Months? Plural? Wow..." Tristan leaned back and looked at the far wall to try and process what he just heard. "This will sound super insulting but, I need to know... How serious are you with Yugi?"

Yami was taken aback by the question. Was that considered an appropriate question considering he and Yugi had just started dating the other day? Technically they've been hooking up for months, but Tristan didn't need to know that. But he knew one thing, "Very serious. I like him...a lot." He ended it at that and made the other guy know that he wasn't planning on elaborating. It's bad enough he had to have this conversation with his very nosey cousins, he didn't need to have it with Tristan. His voice didn't falter. Tristan is the fourth person he's said this to. He had already told his cousins about it. Ironic that he hasn’t even told Yugi about this.

Tristan nodded. “That’s good to hear. You need to understand that while I’m not against you dating my pal, I’m still going to look out for him.” He wanted to be impartial with the whole thing since no one was going to be. To Tristan, Yami really was a genuinely nice guy, he was smart, he was a great gamer like Yugi, and he didn’t seem to be a troublemaker like his cousins were. “So...Yugi has a sister huh?”

Yami had expected this question to pop up soon enough. He got it from Ryou, and now Tristan. No wonder Yugi never talked about stuff. The questions tend to be repetitive. “He has,” Yami confirmed. “But, I’d rather you ask _him_ about her not me.”

Nodding in understanding, Tristan pursed his lips in frustration. “Is she at least good to Yugi? I mean, I saw the pics from Devlin. She seems nice and must love games just like Yugi does if their expressions are anything to go by.”

“She and Yugi get along well,” Yami replied. “Look, Tristan, I’m sorry. But I just don’t feel comfortable talking about this–”

“I’m sorry!” Tristan waved his hands defensively. “I was just curious, you know? Yugi never tells these things to us anymore.” He was honestly jealous of Yami. The teen in front of him knew more about his best friend than him. And Yami was even loyal enough to not divulge too much specifics about things Yugi hadn’t even told others about. Then again, maybe Yami was what Yugi needed all along to finally open up. Yami seemed like the type that minded his own business. Casually, he looked at his watch then turned to the other teen, “I have to go. I honestly just came here to check up on you to make sure you weren’t cheating on my friend. And before you protest, I’m just doing this based from experience.” Tristan smirked when he saw Yami about to interject. “Long story, not really important.” The brunet proceeded to stand up to walk away but he suddenly remembered something. “Oh yeah, and another thing, here’s a big tip for you, while Yugi is still sick, make sure you’re close to your cousins or else Joey might decide to corner you. He’ll hesitate when he knows you’re alone and also, he cares for his friendship with Yugi so he won’t charge at you when Yugi’s around.” Tristan then waved goodbye and left the other teen to his homework.

Yami jumped when a quick chirping sound rang from his phone. There were two messages, one from Bakura and the other from Mana.

**_‘Seto suddenly has a meeting to go to tonight and won’t be back until tomorrow afternoon. Malik has a remedial class and Mana will skin me alive and mail it to my parents if I made you cancel your shopping plans so I’m taking the babysitting shift. Just wanted to let you know.’_ **

**_‘YES!!!! I’m free after class. Volleyball practice was cancelled today. Meet you at the school gate!!!!’_ **

The message ended with too many emojis that Yami almost dreaded the next few hours. The Grand Consequence starts once Seto confirms that duel and Yugi signs the contract so he still had time to spare. He planned on going on a quick trip to the mall before going to Yugi’s place to give his homework, also to check up on him if ever his fever has already broken or what.

 

* * *

 

The Mutou siblings decided to open the Game Shop today to appease Yugi’s boredom. It seemed like a great idea to sleep in today when Kisara offered it, but now, Yugi had a whole day to himself but without other people which was eating Yugi away. Even his sister abandoned him and was currently drowned in her own work. She was currently at the living room doing her work in her pajamas all day. She spent all morning cooking breakfast and lunch, now she was just curled up in a ball with her laptop and milktea working since eleven in the morning. Yugi ate breakfast and lunch with her, but that was all the interaction he had with her. He played video games while he watched her work from his peripheral view. Playing video games on school day seems fun after the first few hours. Now, Yugi was sitting at the counter of the game shop waiting for customers. It was already thirty minutes since school ended so he expected a few kids coming by.

What he didn’t expect were his friends coming in as the first customers of the day.

“Yugi? I thought you were sick,” Tristan asked, genuinely concerned.

The tricolor-haired teen blinked in surprise to see Tristan and Joey arrive at the shop. Peeking behind them, Yugi could see a very uncomfortable Tea watching warily from outside the game shop. Yugi was more wary of dealing with Joey rather than Tea. Remembering that Tristan asked a question, Yugi merely shrugged. “My sister wanted me to sleep in today since we came home late last night.” Yami had blurted out to Duke about Kisara. He didn't really have any choice now to deny it. Of course he didn't miss the shocked faces on Joey's and Tristan's faces when he indirectly confirmed about his sister. He then slumped on his seat behind the counter. It’s only been a few days and a lot has already happened. Yami confessed, Tea confessed, he confessed, he and Yami decided to date. He hasn't even had enough time to get used to the idea and he was already tired of dealing with the consequences of his decisions. Dodging his friends the whole day and taking an extra long route from one place to another just to avoid other people’s stares and whispers were too tiring to do and he already wanted out.

And that was just last week.

"So you and Sennen are actually dating now, huh?" Joey asked, complete with disdain in his voice. "Did you just forget that Tea just poured her heart out to you the day before?”

It was annoying that Joey even insinuated that. “Of course I didn’t forget! What do you take me for?” A lot happened that day, of course Joey didn’t know that Yami confessed before Tea did. Yugi knew his decisions were going to stack up, but now with Joey in front of him, and Tea just by the doorway, it was obvious that she could hear the conversation. The Game Shop wasn’t sound proofed.

“You make it sound like it’s not a big deal,” Joey said with a disappointing scoff. He had wanted to confront Yugi about the whole thing since he and Tristan weren’t there when it happened. Tea ate at the student council office while Yugi used his bully evasion tactics on them the whole day. All he and Tristan had were stories of accounts online and the rumors they could hear from other tables at the cafeteria.

Yugi scowled, “It is a big deal, Joey, to me and Tea but not to everyone else. People should just mind their own business.”

“So why aren’t you and Tea talking then?” Joey argued. “If this is a big deal for you as you say, then shouldn’t you be doing something about it? She’s your best friend, and the girl you used to like back then. And about that, what the hell changed? You used to be dedicated to Tea. Now that she’s confessed that she feels the same, you just turned her down instantly.”

“Why are you making this my fault? So my feelings for her changed, it’s normal to get tired of liking someone.” He didn’t have an answer for Joey’s first question. He did, but it didn’t seem like the right answer. He was honestly scared of facing Tea and talking about it. Anything could happen, anything could be said, and anything could be regretted the next day. Of course, he was more scared of what words Joey was going to use on him. Joey had a tendency to speak before thinking. Yugi needed to take everything Joey said with a grain of salt, but it was going to be difficult.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Hopefully Kisara has her metal music is on so she doesn’t hear them.

“Since when?” Joey suddenly demanded.

This pissed Yugi off. “Why are you mad at me?” he hissed. Yugi couldn’t, for the life of him, understand why Joey was fuming right now. Did he not have the right to like someone else aside from Tea?

“Now you’re dating Yami?” Joey asked, ignoring Yugi’s question. “You tell him everything right? I mean, you told him about your sister right?” he demanded. “What makes him more special than Tea that you’d reject your best friend for him?”

Taken aback, Yugi couldn’t help but stand up from his seat and tried to level a glare at Joey. Despite the height difference between him and Joey, he’d dealt with Ushio numerous of times now to know how to glare at someone and make them shrink. “First of all, Joey, leave Yami out of this. And who I date and why I chose to date them is my business. Secondly, my world doesn’t revolve around Tea. She’s my best friend and she will remain my best friend despite my lack of deeper feelings for her. And lastly, you don’t know me so you don’t get to define who I can and cannot like.”

“Yeah, Yugi, I don’t know you. But whose fault is that?” Joey challenged. Behind him, Tristan was torn as to who to side with. Both of his friends had a point, he honestly wanted to leave and maybe try to comfort Tea, but if he left Joey here, there was no telling what could happen. “Maybe if you hung out with us and talk to us more, maybe we’d know who you are. So your parents left, big deal! My parents were divorced too and I have to live alone, separated from my sister! You don’t see me isolating myself from you guys. I hang out with you and spend a lot of time with you. But you, you sit with us and smile every once in a while but you’re always just physically there. You used to be all smiles and very talkative with us, Yugi. Ever since that shit happened with your parents, you just distanced yourself from us. How are we supposed to help you when you won’t even let us?”

“Maybe I don’t want your help, Joey!” Yugi scolded. “Maybe I want you to leave me the fuck alone to deal with my own shit!” He was fuming now. “Why is it that you people won’t just leave me alone? Everyone keeps pinning me about my parents and how pitiful I am that they left. Yeah! I get it, my parents left, they’re gone and they’re not coming back. They both have their own lives and own families now. And they left me.” They weren’t really talking about his parents but years’ worth of frustration was now being brought out. While he wasn’t the raging type, spending your time with Tristan and Joey tend to change your personality. Yugi wasn’t really the type to be under the spotlight all the time. Being constantly dragged under the spotlight because of his own personal issues, when people should _seriously_ be fucking off, was something Yugi absolutely hated. “Yeah, you’re right, Joey, I did like Tea before. But I like Yami now, not her. Yes, I am very much aware that Tea just confessed to me. Why are you guys pressuring me to like her back? Like I should be thankful that she even likes me back. Am I that unlikeable that I should owe her for liking me back? Is that how you see me, Joey? Because I'm prettt sure most of the people at school do. Tea and I should talk about it, but didn’t you ever think that maybe I’m looking for the right timing? Why can’t you all just fuck off?!”

As soon as he stopped speaking, the whole shop was silent.

Words were said and everyone in that small space was shocked. The tension in the room was so thick that they felt breathless just being there.

It was Joey who first talked. “You want to be left alone huh? Fine then, Yugi. Good bye,” he said before turning around and walking away.

“Joey!” Tristan stopped his blond friend but he was shrugged off.

“No. Tristan. Yugi said to leave him alone. So we’ll do that. I mean, we’re his _friends_ right? We do whatever makes our friends happy,” Joey snided.

“Joey, stop.” It was Tea who finally found her voice. “Just stop. Let’s go.” She refused to look Yugi in the eyes. But she did however, gave Joey a stern look which silenced the blond and he exited the establishment without another retort. Once Joey and Tristan were out of the shop, Tea finally looked up at Yugi’s general direction. “I-I’m sorry for the intrusion, Yugi. We’ll see you tomorrow.” Her voice was small, almost a whisper. It was nothing like the bright bubbly and shining personality that Yugi always knew. It was weak and timid, kinda like him when he and Tea first met.

Yugi watched as Tea bowed and left the shop quietly. He could feel his blood flow and his heart racing. After he was able to catch his breath, he walked carefully towards the entrance of the shop to lock it and flip the sign to close it. He walked the same pace back up the house to check if Kisara had heard the explosion below. Peering inside, he found his sister curled up on her recliner with her headphones on and typing away at her laptop just like before. He walked carefully towards the dining room only to be spotted by her. She smiled softly and looked over the kitchen with a silent question if he wanted her to cook for him. Yugi simply shook his head and raided the fridge for some leftovers.

With his face barred from his sister's view, he let out a big sigh of relief. If Kisara heard the argument earlier then she's not showing indication of it. She seemed oblivious which was good. He wasn't really ready to talk about it. In fact, he may never be ready to talk about it ever. He was about to reach for his chocolate milk when Kisara's voice made him jump.

"I'm leaving to work at the office overnight." Her eyes were glinting with amusement. No trace of concern whatsoever which meant that she really had no idea what happened a while ago. "You want me to cook you something before I leave?"

Yugi shook his head. "Maybe just bring me some chocolate when you get home," he replied with a smirk.

Kisara tilted her head on the side with a laz smile. "Alright. I'll replace the chocolates I stole from you," she sneered playfully. "I should get to packing. Make sure to go to school tomorrow okay? I'll be back tomorrow night." She ruffled his hair before walking off.

His heartbeat still at his ears, Yugi stared at his sister's retreating figure. Why was he so nervous around her? Was it because he was scared she would ask about what happened? It seemed that she's completely unaware.

God's, where the hell was Yami?

 

* * *

 

Yami landed with a thump on Yugi’s bed with his boyfriend holding him down by his wrists.

“Hello,” Yugi purred right at Yami’s ear which made the other boy shiver. “Are you here to check on your poor sick boyfriend?” he teased.

He was trying to squirm under Yugi’s hold but the soft rocking of the other’s hip against him just got him turning into goo. Wasn’t Yugi supposed to be sick today? Where was Kisara? Wasn’t she supposed to be looking after Yugi right now? “How are you feeling?” he asked weakly. He could feel his blood rushing down the longer Yugi kept him under his hold.

Yugi was about to lower his lips on Yami when he was stopped which made Yugi whine in frustration.

“Aren’t you sick?” Yami questioned as he held his hand in front of Yugi’s lips and raised his eyebrows.

“I’m actually playing hooky,” Yugi explained. He tried to kiss Yami again when the other moved his head away again, eliciting a growl from Yugi.

“What? You’re not really sick?”

Yugi rolled his eyes. “No. Kisara and I got home late from the beach so she made me sleep in by calling the school saying I’m sick. Now that’s over and done with can I fucking kiss you now or else I will go over Kisara’s room and handcuff you to my bed for the rest of the week.” Yugi then held Yami down once again by his wrists and started to attack his neck with kisses.

“Your sister has handcuffs?” Yami groaned loudly. Why was he even trying to make conversation? Yugi’s hands were already touching his skin and gods did that feel amazing. He faintly registered his blue school jacket and white shirt removed from his body, along with hearing a comment from Yugi about the buttons being an inconvenience. “How did you-ah!” Yugi was now palming his erection through his pants.

“She took my stash of chocolate so I raided her room to find them. But I saw some blackmail material instead,” Yugi explained while he removed his shirt. “I just told you I skipped school with my older sister’s permission and the thing you got from that is the fact that my sister has handcuffs?” He dove down for his long-awaited kiss while his fingers started with Yami’s pants. “Gods I want you right now,” he groaned against the kiss.

This was not what Yami was expecting when he visited Yugi to give him his homework. He wanted to maybe take care of him for a few hours and have a little talk to get to know each other. But any thought of having a nice conversation with Yugi was forgotten when he felt Yugi’s hand palm his member. It was like a switch, and Yami was now impatient to have them both naked on the bed.

Yami spread his legs and Yugi massaged his hips. It was always different when Yugi touched his skin. He becomes extra sensitive and every inch that Yugi touched made Yami’s stomach twist in a giddy way. He could faintly hear Yugi chuckle lowly in his ear, he wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was because he was moaning so loud and so needy at him. Yugi’s pale thumbs started to rub Yami’s hips in circles until one hand slipped further down to his most private area, carefully probing. And it was now Yami’s turn to whine with want and frustration. His hands found Yugi’s hair and he forced Yugi to kiss him again.

As Yugi prepared Yami, he started to shower his boyfriend with kisses around his face, his temples, and his neck, relishing in Yami’s moans and pants of his name.

“What took you so long?” Yugi whispered as he heard Yami’s groan go up an octave. Having a lot of pent up frustration was a understatement where Yugi was concerned. Boredom, plus the whole explosion earlier, and add his frustration over waiting for Yami to come and visit him and Yugi was just a one big hot mess. He already knew Yami would come over, but when four o’clock rolled in, Yugi was already anxious to see him. But it was only two hours later that Yami rang the doorbell and Yugi just basically dragged Yami towards his bedroom and pinned down on his bed. “Tell me, Yami,” Yugi purred directly at Yami’s ear, his fingers pumping in and out slowly. “What was more important that you had to arrive to my place two hours later than I expected you to?” He spoke each word carefully, his fingers playing Yami like an instrument.

“I-uh...Yugi-ah!” Yami was panting like a man trying to catch his breath.

Yami’s pants were only answered by a sweet giggle from the male on top of him. “It’s okay, precious,” Yugi said through gritted teeth. “Now, tell me why you took your sweet time coming to me.”

“I-I-I-okay, Yugi. I-fuck!” Yami arched his body as Yugi hit his sweet spot dead on. He heard a soft giggle once again and pouted. “I went shopping with Mana,” he spoke as fast as he could before Yugi teased him mercilessly again. He heard a tsking sound which meant Yugi was not happy with that answer. “I had to buy a few things.” Once the fingers stopped and left him, Yami whined, already missing the feeling of being filled.

“Should I make you wait, Yami? The way you made me wait for two hours for you?” Yugi lined himself at Yami’s entrance, still taunting, still teasing. He honestly wasn’t going to make Yami wait, but hearing the other boy moan and mewl for him was just too delicious not to hear. He slowly eased himself into Yami and sighed contently once he was inside. “Oh, gods above,” he groaned. “I missed you so much,” he whispered softly as he lazily kissed Yami’s neck.

The words were like a trigger for Yami. He wrapped his arms and legs around Yugi, kissing every inch of skin he could find. His fingers clenched at Yugi’s hair once again on the first thrust. Yugi’s fingers found his hips once again and started their gentle massage which only added to Yami’s pleasure and yes, yes, _yes, Yugi, more._ He wasn’t sure what he was screaming, all he could do was receive Yugi. Staring up, he could see those amethyst eyes focused on him and only him. It was addicting to stare at those beautiful eyes. Along with listening to Yugi’s voice when he called out Yami’s name in ecstacy. Yami noticed that Yugi’s neck was still clean so he attached his lips there to mark Yugi.

Yugi heard Yami groan for more, his breathing more erratic than before which meant that he was close. His movement was now more frantic as he tried to keep up, his grip on Yami’s waist was now tighter, he was sure that he was going to leave a bruise. But that wasn’t his priority right now. He needed to reach the pinnacle along with Yami, he was so close and he wanted to reach it the same time Yami did. He reached between their bodies and grabbed Yami’s erection to add another point of pleasure for his boyfriend. He took pleasure on the surprised look on Yami’s face as he felt his member be stimulated. Yami was now saying his name like a prayer, a mantra begging Yugi to take him to heaven and it was music to Yugi’s ears. Yugi bit at Yami’s neck when he felt himself release. He couldn’t see Yami, but he could tell the the other male was seeing fireworks as he came as well if that strained yelp of Yugi’s name was anything to go by.

When Yami was able to come back down to earth, he felt Yugi get off him so he could cuddle beside him. He turned to kiss Yugi’s temple. “I missed you too,” he whispered.

Yugi hummed in content then proceeded to crawl back on top of Yami.

“Another round?” Yami asked chuckling.

Yugi shook his head. “Maybe later. Do we have any homework?” he asked.

The other teen shook his head. “We still need to see Riviera-sensei though to demo our project.”

Feeling the wet spot on Yami’s stomach, Yugi pouted and got up to get wet wipes on his desk drawer. He proceeded with wiping Yami’s abdomen, surprising the other teen when the cold wipe touched his heated skin. “Sorry about that,” Yugi giggled.

Yami was shocked once again when Yugi curled his tan legs so he could wipe Yami’s bum. This was not the first time Yugi had done this, but it doesn’t stop being uncomfortable whenever he does it. Before Yugi could leave, Yami grabbed a wet wipe and started wiping Yugi’s abdomen. He couldn’t help but chuckle when Yugi squeaked at the cold wipe. When he was done, Yugi took the wipe and threw them all in the trash bin next to his desk. It was then that Yami remembered something. “Where’s your sister?”

Yugi shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe she went to see her submissive,” he chuckled. “I mean those handcuffs were not the police handcuffs. They were BDSM ones. Not sure where the key was though.”

“Will it bother you if you find out that your sister is dating?”

“It will bother me if I didn’t get to at least use her denial stage as a way to tease her first before they got together,” Yugi huffed. “You have no idea how much she teased me about you.”

Yami chuckled. “Well, if it’s any consolation, at least you only had your sister. I had Bakura, Marik, and Marik’s boyfriend, Malik, teasing _me_ about you.” He sat up and leaned on the headboard to survey his surroundings. “You know, I’ve always wondered about the stuff in your room.”  Yugi’s deck was still on its original place on the shelf beside some other puzzles and toys. “I know you live above a game shop, but I’ve never seen this large collection of games and gaming merchandise ever aside from Seto.”

Yugi blushed at Yami’s amazement. “Yeah, well, it’s like what grandpa says. ‘Gaming is the key to a Mutou’s heart.’” He laid down on the bed, resting his head on Yami’s lap. “Some of these are from my grandpa’s and dad’s travels actually. Even my deck is filled with cards from their travels, Kisara included.”

“Are games and travelling the soul food of a Mutou?” Yami teased, his hand caressing Yugi’s pale naked shoulder lightly.

“Maybe,” Yugi replied. “I mean, my mother is actually a food critic. She travels all over the world eating good food and writing about it. Her and dad used to go to fancy hotels that have casinos and bond over who gets the most loot in one night.”

“They sound like a power couple.” Yami was treading on thin ice once again. He was careful with the things he said and made sure to let Yugi talk more rather than ask more questions. But he did notice how Yugi seemed to have a tone of longing in his voice as he spoke about his parents.

“My grandpa used to talk about how they were so sweet back in high school that they could give you cavities,” Yugi chuckled. “Everyone in their high school used to be so envious of their relationship, mostly because dad was such a heartbreaker back then. Grandpa once told me about this girl who cried her heart out outside the house the day after graduation when she found out that dad was going to college in the states with my mom.” Amethyst eyes looked up at the skylight in amusement as he remembered the silly stories his grandpa would tell him about his parents’ once-fairytale love story. “He was really confused when one day my parents just drifted apart, and that was during the time that they found out my mom was pregnant with Kisara.” He felt Yami combed his hair with his tan slender fingers and it relaxed him, much like when Kisara brushed his hair before. Of course that didn’t stop him from having his palms all sweaty and his heart beat faster. He could feel his voice slowly leave him the more he talked about his parents, but it did felt almost natural for him to talk to Yami about it. Yami never asked about them, the conversation just flowed towards talking about them.

Yugi may not have noticed it himself, but Yami saw Yugi’s finger fidgeting on the blanket over them. He was uncomfortable now and Yami didn’t want that. There were still things Yugi can’t talk about. It was okay to talk about happy things, but when it came to the serious stuff, they were still off limits.

“How was school?” Yugi asked, evidently changing the topic.

“It was boring without you,” Yami winked at Yugi and was pleased when he saw the other teen blush under the moonlight. “Everything seems so dull to me whenever you’re not around.”

Yugi swore his brain just shut off after that. “Umm...uh...don’t you need to get home?”

The other teen blinked at him. Was Yugi kicking him out? Seriously? “Well, I can always sleepover here. It’s not like my dad will be looking for me since he’s in Egypt and all.” Great, he freaked Yugi out by flirting with him. He wasn’t exactly expecting that kind of reaction from Yugi. He honestly thought that the blush was actually a good sign that he was doing something right. Then he remembered what Ryou told him.

_Yugi is not the romantic type._

But Yami had always thought that he could change that, hence his little trip to the mall with Mana. He needed to chill, considering they literally just started dating a few days ago.

Baby steps.

“You want to stay?” Yugi genuinely asked. How could Yami want to stay with him? Was it because it was convenient? Not really, since Yami will need to go back home to change.

“I do, but only if you want me to,” Yami replied. He still needed to assure Yugi that he was in control and Yami was willing to do whatever he wishes. Apparently, he said the right thing since Yugi curled into him more and hummed in content. Yami smiled to himself and shimmied back down on the bed to encircle his arms around Yugi. “Sleepy?”

Amethyst eyes blinked a few times before they were hidden away by eyelids. “Yes,” Yugi sighed.

Yami kissed Yugi’s temple and waited for the other teen to fall asleep before he too fell asleep, but not without whispering, “I’ll always be here as long as you say that I can.”

 

* * *

 

SMACK!

She yelped more from the sound than the sting on her ass cheek. Her legs were straining from the deathtrap heels she was instructed to wear tonight, the _only_ thing she was allowed to wear tonight. The upper half of her body was draped over the higher curve of the chair while her legs were spread apart. Her heart was pounding so much in anticipation for the next hit but he was toying with her. She wanted to turn around to glare at him but not only was she blindfolded, but her wrists were bound to the chair by rope. She can’t even put her legs together to ease some of the pain since her dominant used a spreader bar to keep them in place.

“I can see you trembling in anticipation, kitten.”

She jumped at how close his voice was to her ear. She almost shrieked in surprise but that would earn her another torturous session of being edged so she kept her mouth shut. He’s been denying her her release for some time now and no penetration has happened yet. He’s making her want it, he wants to hear her beg because that’s what gives him more pleasure. He was making up for lost time.

“I’ve missed you, kitten. I’m surprised you even wanted to play with me again.” He teased the belt he’d been using to spank her with by running it across her pale back. “Tell me, kitten, what do you want?”

She felt her head be tilted so she was facing him, not that she could see him. Her heart was beating fast and she wiggled her legs to ease the pain that she had forgotten to answer the question. And as punishment, she received another stinging spanking on both of her cheeks via the leather belt.

“I asked you a question, kitten. And what do we do when we’re asked a question?” His voice was hard yet teasing. “Looks like the time we’ve spent apart has made you forget your manners.” Another biting hit from the belt followed his words. “You need to be trained again, don’t you think so? I think so.”

He let her head go. She could hear him thumping around the room and going through the chest at the foot of the bed. Her arms were starting to tremble as well from the strain of holding half of her weight. She was about to collapse and was relieved that he had sensed it since the next thing she knew was her restraints were being loosened and she was now being carried. She was then put down with her stomach on his lap, a warm hand gently caressing her tender behind.

“Tell me what you want, kitten,” he ordered gently. He breathed into her ear before his lips traveled down her back, leaving a path of wet kisses as he waited for her reply. But she was too busy moaning and shivering at his treatment. His kisses went back up and after kissing her shoulder, he spoke at her other ear teasingly. “My angel, tell me what you want  from me. You know I would be more than happy to oblige.”

“I want you to show me how powerful you are, sir,” she answered, her voice almost whimpering in excitement. She loved it when he put her in her place. Whenever he would pull her hair and tell her that he was in control, or when he would demand her to tell him who owned her, it turned her on so much.

Her words were like a trigger to him. His eyes dilated as he brought his hand towards her already pink ass cheek for a stinging slap. The way she jumped and squeaked at the contact just fueled his libido and he hit her again, harder this time. He tsked as she fell silent again. “Kitten, you forgot to count.” He felt her tense on his lap at his words and he smirked. “I’ll let it pass since you probably forgot. But remember, you have to count them, angel. We’ll go back to one alright?” He asked lovingly, his hand caressing her tender backside. He waited for the nod before continuing.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Six.

She counted and bit her lip whenever they would pause. To tease him or indirectly ask him to hit her harder, she would wiggle her hips tauntingly. She counted up to twenty, ten per cheek, and she was going to feel that sting the whole day tomorrow. She was already excited for it.

After her spanking she felt leather cuffs restrain her wrists and she was laid down on her back. She hadn’t realized that they transferred to the bed. She could hear him taking his clothes off. The bed dipped, and she was then carried so she was now straddling him. He took off her blindfold and loosened her braided hair. It was a signal of what was to come. The hand on her tender ass felt amazing, she couldn’t help but hiss. Once her eyes were able to adjust, she could see him again.

“Too tight?” he asked as he caressed her wrists. When she shook her head, he looked into her twinkling eyes. “I love seeing your eyes when I’m taking you,” he said as he ran his fingers through her hair. He put both of his hands on her ass that were warm and tender from his treatment as he guided her to their position. “I want you to pleasure me, my angel,” he whispered, his breath tickling her neck.

She could never deny him when he spoke to her that way, when he called her his angel. Wrapping her bound arms around his neck, she lowered herself on him.

It felt amazing for the both of them to be connected again. They moved fast and desperate for release. After a few minutes he couldn’t help it anymore, he flipped them so he could move into her faster. One of his hands were pulling her hair while the other held onto her shoulder for more leverage. The restrained hands that were behind his head already grabbed onto his hair for support. He made sure to keep constant eye contact with her. It felt like they were moving forever and that didn’t sound so bad. He could feel her release as she arched her back, her mouth formed an “O” her eyes closed as she rode her orgasm. But he didn’t stop. To add to the sensation, he reached down to tease her bundle of nerves as he continued to move into her.

She was consumed in ecstasy as she was being spoiled by him. In this room, despite being bound, she felt free. Despite being naked and wide open, she felt secure. But only if it was him. He who knew how to touch her, who knew how her body reacted. This was the first time they’ve played in a long time and she was surprised that they just came back in the swing of things as if nothing’s changed. Sure they slept together a few nights before, but she felt more connected with him when they were playing. She likes it when he spanks her so hard, she would feel the tenderness for days after and the stinging pain she feels when she sits down while working excites her. Her heart was pounding and she could feel her third orgasm coming, or was it fourth? Maybe fifth?

There was a moment wherein he had to think clearly and ask her if it was okay to come inside her. She said it was okay. How they were able to form coherent sentences and understand each other in their moment of pure ecstasy, they didn’t know. Their eyes connected for a moment and they instantly crashed their lips for a carnal kiss as they both reached their peaks. Lips, tongues, teeth clashing. Twin muffled groans echoed in the room. There was hair grabbing, their hands trying to find an anchor as they experienced the sweet release they can only have with each other. And once their high peaked, nothing else in the world mattered but the person in their arms.

They both twitched a bit as they rode out their release. He pulled out of her and removed himself from her embrace. He took the keys for the handcuffs and freed her hands so he could proceed with the after care. He sat on the bed, his back against the headboard, and picked her up so he could cuddle her and ran his fingers through her hair. It was his job to take care of her after their scene, just like when she was the dominant one. Her after care comprised of cuddling, hair petting, and little kisses, and he could never complain since this was for him just as much as it was for her.

Once emotional aftercare was done, he carried her out of the room and into the bathroom where a mat was waiting for her so her tender bottom didn’t make contact with the cold tub. He was about to open the faucet when he noticed the blue stilettos he bought for her were still on. He gently took them off and massaged the toes that were forced into the deathtraps he bought. She gave him a smile before her eyes rolled back, surrendering herself to his magical hands.

For some reason, he kissed her feet before setting it down and turning on the water, which, thankfully for him, she didn’t notice. She didn’t flinch at the water which was good. He wasn’t able to prepare the bathroom. There usually was a small mat on the countertop where he could place her while he made her bath. It was part of her aftercare to not leave her alone in the room where they had a scene. Unlike him, that needed to spoon for a few minutes and a massage, plus leave him to go to the bathroom but have a set of clothes ready for him when he finished.They needed different things after playing and neither of them complained. He was surprised with how compatible they were. As he slowly washed her hair, he took note how calm she looked with her eyes closed. He needed to watch her since she might fall asleep which she sometimes did. Once he was done with the hair, he took a washing cloth so he could clean the rest of her body.

The act wasn’t sexual. If anything, it was therapeutic for both of them. Their arrangement was plainly for their pleasure so they understood that they both have different needs that needed to be satisfied inside and outside their scenes. They both liked living on the edge, testing their limits and playing with their control. And he knew that he could never do this with someone else. No one would know how to play with his hard limits safely and teasingly the way she could and no other girl could give him the reactions he wanted when he was the dominant.

He turned the shower on to rinse her of the soap, then he drained the tub and proceeded to massage her scalp gently as the shampoo slowly slid down her hair. He took the shower head to help him rinse her faster and in a few minutes he was done. He let her up and dried her body then wrapped a bathrobe around her. He picked her up again and carried her out to the antechamber and put her on bench in front of a boudoir. Once she was seated, he kissed her nose and, something that isn’t part of her aftercare but mostly just for him, he cupped her face and kissed her on the lips gently.

Tonight, she belonged to him, but once they leave this room, this apartment, they were individuals again. No one belonged to anyone. She wasn’t his kitten, his girl. His angel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double lemon chapter! Woohoo! Now while we all know who that couple is, I'd like to say that their plot line is actually inspired by fanfics of Blueshipping that I've been reading. There are a LOT of BDSM fics for them. The authors say it's because of Kaiba's intense personality, which actually makes sense. Also, I love that Yami calls Mana "his best girl". It's absolutely adorable! 
> 
> Err...Yugi's little outburst might not bode well for Yami's plan. 
> 
> So what do you guys think? Leave a comment to tell me!


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